Uganda Ebola risk remains despite all-clear, WHO says

Uganda remains at risk from Ebola spreading from neighbouring Democratic Republic of Congo despite declaring its 2026 outbreak over, the World Health Organization said Wednesday.

Uganda's health ministry said on July 28 that the country had officially declared the end of the outbreak and was Ebola free. The declaration followed 42 days since the last confirmed locally transmitted case was discharged from care on June 16, with no documented onward local transmission.

The WHO said the standard international countdown is 42 days from the last potential exposure to the last case. It said the last imported case from the Democratic Republic of Congo was discharged on July 16, so it would monitor the situation for 42 days from that date as an additional safeguard.

Uganda has recorded 20 confirmed cases, including two deaths, and 18 recovered patients.

DR Congo has recorded 3,360 confirmed cases, including 1,487 deaths. The outbreak is heavily centred on northeastern Ituri province, which borders Uganda.

The WHO said Uganda had not documented ongoing local transmission, based on the health ministry's assessment, but that the declaration did not mean the risk had disappeared. It said heightened surveillance and readiness remained important while transmission continued in neighbouring areas of DR Congo.

Ebola is a viral haemorrhagic fever that spreads through close contact and infected bodily fluids. DR Congo declared its 17th Ebola outbreak on May 15 after several deaths in Ituri. The epidemic is now the third-largest Ebola outbreak on record.

The current outbreak is caused by the rare Bundibugyo species of Ebola. There are no approved vaccines or treatments for that species.