The World Health Organization (WHO) has officially declared Uganda’s 2026 Ebola outbreak over, following the country’s successful containment of the deadly disease.
The declaration confirms Uganda’s earlier announcement on July 28 that it had ended the outbreak after completing the required 42-day monitoring period without detecting new infections. Uganda recorded 20 confirmed Ebola cases and two deaths during the outbreak.
The outbreak was caused by the Bundibugyo strain of Ebola, with Uganda’s final confirmed case reported on June 21. The last patient was discharged from treatment in July, after which health authorities maintained intensive surveillance to ensure there were no undetected chains of transmission.
WHO officials have credited Uganda’s surveillance, contact tracing and rapid response measures for helping bring the outbreak under control. However, the declaration comes as a major Ebola crisis continues to escalate in neighbouring Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC).
According to Reuters, the Congolese outbreak has now recorded more than 5,600 cases and over 2,700 deaths, making it the second-deadliest Ebola outbreak in history. WHO says transmission remains highly active despite improvements in contact tracing and testing.
The outbreak in DRC has spread across several provinces, with insecurity, population displacement and cross-border movement complicating efforts to contain the virus. WHO has also warned of a $30 million funding gap, which threatens the continued provision of medical and protective supplies in the worst-affected areas.
The DRC outbreak is also being driven by the same Bundibugyo virus strain responsible for Uganda’s outbreak. WHO has described the Congolese epidemic as the largest Ebola outbreak ever recorded in the country, surpassing the 2018–2020 outbreak.
Despite Uganda’s declaration of the end of the outbreak, health authorities remain on alert because of the continuing transmission in DRC. WHO has previously warned that Uganda remains at risk of imported infections because of cross-border population movements.
The successful containment of the Ugandan outbreak therefore represents an important public-health achievement, but the worsening situation in DRC continues to pose a significant regional health-security challenge.
