Uganda has confirmed three new Ebola cases, bringing the total number of confirmed infections in the East African nation to five since the virus was detected there and in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) on May 15, 2026. This development comes as the World Health Organization (WHO) has declared the outbreak of the highly contagious haemorrhagic fever an international emergency, raising concerns about its potential spread across the continent.

The newly confirmed patients in Uganda include a Ugandan driver, a Ugandan health worker, and a woman from the DRC. All three are reported to be alive. One person has died in Uganda from the virus. Health Services Director-General Charles Olaro detailed that the Congolese woman had travelled from Arua to Entebbe on a chartered flight on May 10 to seek medical treatment, was initially discharged, but later tested positive for Ebola after a tip-off. The driver confirmed infected on Saturday had been transporting one of the ill Congolese nationals to Uganda, and the health worker was exposed while treating that patient. Authorities have identified and placed 127 contacts under institutional quarantine in Uganda to contain the outbreak.

The Red Cross reported that three Congolese volunteers died in Ituri, DRC, after apparently contracting Ebola. These volunteers were involved in dead body management activities on March 27 as part of a humanitarian mission unrelated to Ebola, before the community was aware of the outbreak, making them among the first known victims. Ebola, a deadly viral disease that spreads through direct contact with bodily fluids, can cause severe bleeding and organ failure, and has claimed over 15,000 lives in Africa over the past half-century.

The current epidemic is primarily centered on the conflict-wracked eastern DRC, where it was initially detected in Ituri province before spreading to South Kivu. The WHO reported on Friday 82 confirmed cases and seven confirmed deaths in the DRC, alongside almost 750 suspected cases and 177 suspected deaths. The eastern DRC has suffered from decades of conflict involving various armed groups, with state services often absent in rural areas of Ituri. South Kivu, for instance, is controlled by the Rwandan-backed M23 armed group, which has no experience managing an epidemic like Ebola.

Jean Kaseya, head of the Africa Centres for Disease Control and Prevention (Africa CDC), warned that 10 other African countries are at risk of being affected by the Ebola virus in addition to the DRC and Uganda. These countries include Angola, Burundi, the Central African Republic, the Republic of Congo, Ethiopia, Kenya, Rwanda, South Sudan, Tanzania, and Zambia. Kaseya attributed the heightened risk to “high mobility and insecurity” in the region. Congolese Health Minister Samuel Roger Kamba emphasized that the Kinshasa government needs “total control” of the DRC territory to effectively halt the virus’s spread.

In response to the escalating crisis, the WHO raised the risk from Ebola in the DRC to its highest level – “very high” – on Friday, while assessing the risk in central Africa as “high” and the global risk as “low.” The outbreak is caused by the less common Bundibugyo strain of the virus, for which there are currently no approved vaccines or treatments. Consequently, Uganda has taken precautionary measures, including suspending public transport to the DRC and Uganda Airlines temporarily cancelling flights to and from Kinshasa, effective May 23, 2026. The United States has also introduced new public health arrival restrictions and enhanced Ebola screening measures for travellers arriving from the DRC, Uganda, and South Sudan.