The 2026 DRC Bundibugyo Ebola outbreak has unfolded across roughly 29 days from the first known symptom onset to Day 6 of the WHO Public Health Emergency of International Concern. This page collects the operational timeline of the outbreak, dated event by dated event, from the index nurse in Bunia through the 22 May WHO Director-General media briefing and IHR Emergency Committee first meeting.
The full event-dated timeline
April 2026
- 24 April 2026 — Bunia, Ituri Province · index case. A nurse arrives at a Bunia health facility with fever, severe malaise, vomiting and hemorrhaging. She dies at the centre. Retrospective investigation identifies this as the currently-known index case.
May 2026 — outbreak alert and PCR confirmation
- 5 May 2026 — WHO alert. WHO receives an alert about an unknown high-mortality illness in Mongbwalu Health Zone, Ituri, including four health workers dead within four days. Samples shipped to INRB Kinshasa for analysis.
- 14 May 2026 — Bundibugyo confirmation at INRB. Repeat PCR at INRB Kinshasa confirms Bundibugyo virus (BDBV) rather than Zaire ebolavirus. Initial diagnostic assays had targeted Zaire only and returned negative, briefly delaying recognition.
- 15 May 2026 — DRC declaration. The DRC Ministry of Public Health, Hygiene and Social Welfare officially declares the 17th Ebola Disease outbreak in DRC history, covering Bunia, Rwampara and Mongbwalu health zones in Ituri.
- 16 May 2026 — cross-border into Uganda. Uganda Ministry of Health confirms two PCR-positive Bundibugyo cases in Kampala, both with recent travel from DRC. One dies. WHO Director-General determines PHEIC criteria are met.
17 May — WHO PHEIC declared · first American positive
- 17 May 2026. WHO Director-General formally declares the Bundibugyo Ebola outbreak in DRC and Uganda a Public Health Emergency of International Concern. The same day, Dr Peter Stafford — an American physician working at Nyankunde Hospital in Bunia since 2023 — tests positive for Bundibugyo virus. CDC reaffirms US domestic risk as low. Cluster total: 12 PCR-confirmed cases, 336 suspected, 89 deaths.
18 May — US enhanced screening · outbreak expands
- 18 May 2026. CDC and DHS implement enhanced US entry screening at 5 international airports (ATL, JFK, EWR, IAD, ORD) on arrivals from DRC and Uganda. The DRC Ministry of Public Health confirms the outbreak now spans 9 Ituri health zones, up from the original three. Africa CDC declares the outbreak a Public Health Emergency of Continental Security.
19 May — Day 2 of PHEIC · confirmed cases triple
- 19 May 2026. Cumulative: 30 PCR-confirmed, 513 suspected, 131 deaths across 9 Ituri health zones. Sharp rise in confirmed cases reflects expanded INRB Kinshasa laboratory throughput. Dr Stafford medically evacuated to a German high-containment unit.
20 May — Day 3 of PHEIC · WHO DG media briefing
- 20 May 2026. Cumulative: 51 PCR-confirmed, ~600 suspected, 139 deaths across 11 health zones (Ituri + North Kivu — Butembo and Goma). WHO Director-General delivers opening remarks at a Geneva media briefing.
21 May — Day 4 of PHEIC · MSF mobilises · South Kivu import
- 21 May 2026. South Kivu reports a single PCR-confirmed case imported from Tshopo Province — first case outside the Ituri + North Kivu + Uganda + Kinshasa pipeline. MSF announces large-scale response in Ituri.
- Youths torch a hospital in Ituri after authorities refused to release the body of a local football player who died of suspected Ebola.
22 May — Day 5 of PHEIC · DRC area risk upgraded to "very high"
- 22 May 2026. WHO Director-General delivers joint media briefing on outbreaks of Ebola and hantavirus. WHO upgrades DRC area risk from "high" to "very high" (global risk remains low). WHO IHR Emergency Committee holds its first meeting and issues temporary recommendations. WHO R&D Blueprint prioritises 2 monoclonal antibodies for clinical trial and obeldesivir for post-exposure prophylaxis evaluation. WHO releases US$3.9M from Contingency Fund; UN allocates US$60M. 22 WHO international staff deployed. CDC dispatches 20 epidemiologists to DRC + 23 to Uganda. Cumulative: 82–85 PCR-confirmed DRC + 2 Uganda imports, ~744–750 suspected, 176–177 deaths.
23 May — Day 6 of PHEIC · today's posture
- 23 May 2026 (today). Cluster total stands at 85 PCR-confirmed in DRC + 2 imports in Uganda, ~750 suspected, 177 deaths cumulative. WHO IHR Emergency Committee temporary recommendations in operational implementation. MSF Ituri response scaling. IFRC volunteers door-to-door in Mongbwalu. CDC + DHS enhanced US entry screening at 5 airports remains in place.
What to watch through the next 14 days
The next 14 days will test whether the cluster is bending toward containment. Three signals will define the read. First, whether the confirmation rate stabilises inside the 20–40% range that historical Ebola outbreaks have run once laboratory pipelines mature — a sustained higher rate would suggest substantial under-detection. Second, whether North Kivu (particularly Goma) produces any documented community-acquired secondary cases. Third, whether the WHO R&D Blueprint mAb and obeldesivir PEP trial protocols can be filed, IRB-reviewed and operationally activated inside the trial-feasible window.