2026 Ebola outbreak: Maps track spread and global impact data of virus

A growing Ebola outbreak in Central Africa has topped 1,000 suspected infections, with the Democratic Republic of the Congo emerging as the epicenter, World Health Organization officials say. With reports of Ebola cases surging, how worried should Americans be?

For the majority of people in the U.S., it's very unlikely that a virus such as Ebola could become widespread, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

"Widespread transmission is very unlikely with Ebola," Michele Barry, senior associate dean of global health and director of the Stanford Center for Innovation in Global Health, said in a recent statement in the StanfordReport. "However, a timely and collaborative global response is vital to support the DRC and its neighbors in tracking and containing this outbreak and saving lives."

In 2014, health officials in the United States had to deal with imported cases of Ebola from the West Africa outbreak. Eleven people received treatment for an Ebola virus infection in the U.S., with two dying from the virus. The majority of them had contracted the Ebola virus outside the United States.

Where the 2026 Ebola outbreak is centered

The first suspected case in 2026 of the new strain of Ebola, called Bundibugyo strain, was reported in late April in the Democratic Republic of the Congo and was officially investigated in early May, according to the WHO. Testing shows that, unlike earlier strains, there is currently no approved vaccine or targeted treatment for the virus strain.

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Since then, the number of suspected cases has grown to 906, with 223 suspected deaths in the Democratic Republic of the Congo as of May 29, according to the CDC. There have also been seven confirmed cases of Ebola in Uganda, three of which were imported from the DRC, including one death.

More than 28,600 people were infected during the 2014-2016 Ebola outbreak in West Africa, the largest outbreak since the virus was first identified in 1976, according to WHO.

Where Americans abroad will be treated for Ebola

Within hours of U.S. officials announcing that a 50-bed Ebola quarantine facility was slated to open in Kenya on May 29, a Kenyan court ordered the temporary suspension of the plan over concerns about risks to public health.

Senior U.S. officials said the 50-bed unit at an air force base in central Kenya would serve Americans who have been exposed to the virus but are still asymptomatic and would become operational on Friday, according to Reuters.

Patients who develop symptoms would be sent for care in other countries outside the U.S., the officials said.

The CDC briefly limited entry for certain travelers who had recently been in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Uganda or South Sudan.

How 2026 Ebola cases compare to past outbreaks

Cases in the Democratic Republic of the Congo have surged since the WHO’s May 17 emergency declaration, with more than 1,000 suspected cases are under investigation across the region.

How contagious is Ebola virus?

Every virus has an R₀ factor (or reproduction number), which estimates the number of individuals one infected person is likely to infect others in the absence of interventions such as vaccination and infection control.

Compared to other infectious diseases, Ebola has a relatively low reproduction number compared to COVID-19 or measles, but it has a much higher fatality rate, according to the StanfordReport.

What are the symptoms of the Bundibugyo Ebola strain?

The symptoms are generally similar to those of other Ebola viruses, though experts cannot be entirely sure because only a limited number of cases of this particular strain had been observed before the most recent outbreak. They typically begin abruptly, appearing anywhere from two to 21 days after infection.

How zoonotic diseases such as Ebola spread to humans

Ebola is introduced into the human population through close contact with the blood, secretions, organs or other bodily fluids of infected animals. In Africa, infection has been documented through the handling of infected fruit bats, monkeys, chimpanzees, gorillas, forest antelope and porcupines found ill or dead in the rainforest.

Outbreaks of diseases from animals are becoming more common. Why?

The recent hantavirus and Ebola outbreaks were both caused by pathogens that spread from animals to humans, notes Peter Hotez, dean of the National School of Tropical Medicine and professor of pediatrics and molecular virology and microbiology at Baylor College of Medicine. Hantavirus typically spreads to humans via rodent droppings and saliva, while Ebola is often transmitted from animals such as fruit bats and porcupines.

"This is our new normal," Hotez says of zoonotic spillover events. "Every year, every other year, every three years, we should expect to see a major zoonotic spillover event, and a serious epidemic."

In a recent study published by the American Association for the Advancement of Science, researchers found that the more contact humans have with animals, especially over long periods, such as through trade, the higher the chances that diseases will jump between them.

CONTRIBUTING: Charles Trepany and Swapna Venugopal Ramaswamy/USA TODAY, Reuters

SOURCE: Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, World Health Organization and The BMJ