Risk to the U.S. Population from the 2026 Ebola Disease Outbreak Caused by Bundibugyo Virus

For Public Health

At a glance

CDC is responding to an outbreak of Bundibugyo virus disease (BVD), a type of Ebola disease, centered in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC). As of June 5, 2026, the current risk to the general U.S. population is low.

Read the full report

The full domestic risk assessment was one of three reports published in the Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report on June 5, 2026, along with an overview of the CDC response to the outbreak and planning scenarios.

Keep Reading Assessment of Risk to the U.S. Population from the Ebola Disease Outbreak Caused by Bundibugyo Virus, 2026

Risk assessment, as of June 5, 2026

On May 15, 2026, the ministries of health in the Democratic Republic of the Congo and Uganda declared outbreaks of Bundibugyo virus disease (BVD). CDC assessed the risk posed by this outbreak of BVD to the U.S. population during the next 3 months.

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Table displaying low risk, extremely low likelihood, and high impact of Ebola disease to the general U.S. population and with moderate confidence.
Risk posed to the general U.S. population from the BVD outbreak in the DRC is low. Likelihood of infection is extremely low. Impact of infection is high. Confidence level in this assessment is moderate.

This analysis used a standardized risk assessment approach that included epidemiologic data from the ongoing outbreak and historical data from previous Ebola outbreaks; the overall risk was determined by taking into account independent assessments of the likelihood of infection and the impact of infection for the general U.S. population.

The assessment found that, as of June 5, 2026, the overall risk to the U.S. population posed by the BVD outbreak during the next 3 months is low, based on the extremely low likelihood of transmission in the United States, despite the high impact that any infection would have and the public health resources that would be required to respond to the outbreak.

Limitations to this assessment included uncertainties around the epidemiology of BVD as well as the current and future scope and geographic spread of the outbreak. CDC continues to monitor factors that could change this risk assessment.

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Content Source:
Center for Forecasting and Outbreak Analytics