🩸 Ebola Virus Disease
Ebola virus disease (EVD) is a severe viral hemorrhagic fever caused by Ebola virus, a member of the family Filoviridae. Outbreaks occur primarily in sub-Saharan Africa and carry case fatality rates between 25% and 90% depending on strain and access to care. An outbreak of Bundibugyo virus — an established ebolavirus species, not a new one — began in the DRC's Ituri Province in 2026 and triggered a WHO Public Health Emergency of International Concern (PHEIC). It is now the second-largest Ebola outbreak on record.
Key facts
- Case fatality rate 25–90% depending on strain and care availability
- Two FDA-approved treatments: Inmazeb and Ebanga
- One FDA-approved vaccine: rVSV-ZEBOV (Ervebo)
- Spreads only through direct contact with infectious body fluids — not airborne
Most-asked questions
- What are Ebola symptoms?
- How does Ebola spread?
- Is there a vaccine for Ebola?
- What is the current 2026 Ebola outbreak?
- What is the risk of Ebola in the U.S.?
These questions are answered in depth on EbolaQuestions.com.
2026 DRC Ituri Province Outbreak
In May 2026, DRC and Uganda declared outbreaks of Bundibugyo virus disease (BVD) — a type of Ebola disease caused by the Bundibugyo virus. As of September 12, 2026, CDC reports 7,200 confirmed cases and 3,475 confirmed deaths in DRC (crude case-fatality rate about 48%), across six provinces: Haut-Uélé, Ituri, Nord-Kivu, Sud-Kivu, Sud-Ubangi and Tshopo. Uganda's linked outbreak (20 confirmed cases, 2 deaths) reported its last case on June 21. Because the licensed Ebola vaccine and treatments target Zaire ebolavirus only and are not authorized for Bundibugyo virus disease, their efficacy against this outbreak is not established.
Risk to the United States: Low. No cases from this outbreak have been reported in the United States; CDC's risk assessment for the general U.S. population was reaffirmed as low on September 8, 2026. CDC's travel notices are Level 4 (Avoid All Travel) for Ituri and Nord-Kivu provinces, Level 3 (Reconsider Nonessential Travel) for Haut-Uélé and Tshopo, and Level 2 (Practice Enhanced Precautions) for the rest of DRC and for Uganda. Travelers who have been in DRC within 21 days cannot board commercial flights to the United States. Updated September 15, 2026 — this section previously described the May 2026 Level 3 notice for Ituri, Nord-Kivu and Sud-Kivu; CDC has since raised the level and the outbreak has spread to six provinces.
What is Ebola virus disease?
Ebola virus disease is caused by one of several orthoebolaviruses in the genus Orthoebolavirus, four of which are known to cause illness in people. The most lethal — and the cause of most large outbreaks — is Zaire ebolavirus. The natural reservoir is thought to be fruit bats (Pteropodidae family), though the reservoir remains incompletely understood. (CDC: About Ebola)
How Ebola spreads
Ebola is not airborne. It spreads through direct contact with the blood, secretions, organs, or other body fluids of infected people or animals. Healthcare workers and family members who care for infected patients are at highest risk. Sexual transmission is possible from survivors who may carry the virus in semen for up to 12 months. (CDC: Ebola Transmission)
Symptoms
Ebola symptoms appear 2–21 days after exposure (average 8–10 days). The illness progresses rapidly: fever, fatigue, muscle pain, headache, and sore throat are followed by vomiting, diarrhea, rash, and — in severe cases — internal and external bleeding. Early recognition and isolation are critical; patients become contagious only after symptoms begin. (CDC: Ebola Symptoms)
Treatment and vaccines
FDA-approved treatments
Two monoclonal antibody therapies are FDA-approved for Zaire ebolavirus: atoltivimab/maftivimab/odesivimab (Inmazeb) and ansuvimab (Ebanga). Both target the Zaire strain. Efficacy against the novel 2026 DRC variant has not yet been established. (FDA: Ebola Preparedness and Response)
FDA-approved vaccine
rVSV-ZEBOV (Ervebo) is FDA-approved and WHO-prequalified for prevention of Zaire ebolavirus. It uses a ring vaccination strategy in outbreak settings. As with treatment, efficacy against the novel 2026 variant is under active investigation. (FDA: Ervebo)
How Ebola compares to other viruses
A case fatality rate on its own is hard to read — 38% sounds catastrophic, 0.1% sounds trivial, and neither tells you how the virus sits against anything else. This section places Ebola against the other viruses in the network's 15-virus dataset, which is maintained here on the hub rather than on any single-virus site.
Ebola publishes no United States figures at all, and that is the comparison. Not present in the US — the only US cases ever (2014) were travel-associated, and risk to the US public is very low. Where a virus is not established in the US, CDC has no domestic case series to report, so the honest US column is empty rather than zero. WHO puts the average Ebola case fatality rate at about 50%, ranging 25–90% across past outbreaks. Ebola cases and deaths are outbreak-driven rather than an annual global figure, so they are left UNAVAILABLE. Fact sheet re-read 2026-09-15: dated 24 April 2025 (the date now carried here) and unchanged — still "around 50%", 25–90% across outbreaks; the current Bundibugyo outbreak's crude figure is on the US-scope record.
Comprehensive coverage at EbolaQuestions.com
Full pages on symptoms, transmission, outbreak history, current 2026 outbreak, healthcare worker guidance, travel risk, prevention, misinformation, and research. Updated with verified news daily.
This page provides a summary of Ebola virus disease. For comprehensive information, visit EbolaQuestions.com. Summarized from CDC and WHO guidance. Last reviewed: .