Something is spreading faster than the teams sent to contain it. And for anyone with travel plans touching central or eastern Africa, this is not the moment to look away.
A new Ebola outbreak has been confirmed across parts of central and eastern Africa, and the numbers are climbing fast.
Health officials are watching closely, contact tracing is proving difficult, and the CDC has already stepped in with new requirements for travelers returning to the United States from the affected region.
Here’s what’s happening and what it means if you’re planning to travel.
The Numbers Are Rising Quickly
The outbreak was officially confirmed by the Democratic Republic of the Congo Ministry of Public Health on May 15, 2026. Two days later, the World Health Organization declared it a Public Health Emergency of International Concern.
One month in, the situation is still accelerating. In a single 24-hour period on June 15, 72 new cases were reported. That brought the total confirmed case count to 782, with 181 confirmed deaths.
Kate White, an emergency medical coordinator for Doctors Without Borders operating in Congo, put it plainly: “One month on, the Ebola disease outbreak is outpacing the response effort. No one knows the true scale or exactly where the disease is spreading in Congo.”
Where the Outbreak Is Centered
More than 90 percent of confirmed cases are concentrated in Ituri, a province in eastern Congo. But the disease has crossed borders. Uganda has confirmed cases, and South Sudan is considered a high-risk area.
The outbreak is caused by the Bundibugyo virus, a rare strain of Ebola. Most of Congo’s previous outbreaks involved the Zaire virus, for which a vaccine now exists.
Authorities were not initially testing for Bundibugyo, which means the real case count is likely higher than official figures reflect, and the outbreak is believed to have started several weeks before it was confirmed on May 15.
Why Containment Is So Difficult
Contact tracing efforts are in place, but coverage dropped last week as the outbreak expanded into new areas. Community resistance has complicated the response further. Tracking miners who move regularly through the region has also proven particularly hard.
The WHO has been sending supplies and running testing, treatment, and tracing operations.
Jean Kaseya, head of the Africa Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, called on donors and partners to urgently mobilize resources, adding: “We remain committed to supporting affected countries until transmission is stopped.”
What the CDC Is Requiring for Travelers
The CDC has issued a public health order affecting anyone who has been in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Uganda, or South Sudan within the past 21 days.
Those travelers are subject to:
- Enhanced health screening upon arrival
- Mandatory rerouting through designated U.S. airports
The CDC has confirmed no cases linked to this outbreak have been detected in the United States. Its current assessment is that the overall risk to American travelers and the general public remains low.
For ongoing updates, the CDC is publishing situation reports at CDC.gov/ebola/situation-summary.