Tracking the 2026 Ebola outbreak in maps and figures: Locations, severity, how contagious it is and more - NBC News

The ongoing Ebola outbreak in eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo has alarmed global public health experts over the ferocity of the spread in the remote and heavily populated region. Since the World Health Organization declared a public health emergency in mid-May, there have been about 1,000 cases and hundreds of deaths from the Bundibugyo species of the virus. While global health workers race to contain the epidemic raging in Congo, there’s controversy over the Trump administration’s decision to send Americans exposed to the virus to a quarantine facility in Kenya, which has no cases of Ebola. The move, a departure from prior Ebola outbreaks, has sparked pushback from a Kenyan court, which ordered a temporary suspension of the plan. It’s unclear how long the suspension will last, though an administration official said Friday that the U.S. is working with the Kenyan government and others to plan for the facility. White House officials said earlier that if more Americans contract Ebola and need medical care, they’d be sent to Europe rather than flown to the U.S. An American surgeon who caught Ebola while treating patients in the Ituri province was evacuated to Germany for treatment. The “speed and scale” of the outbreak in Congo is causing worry about potential spread to other areas or countries as conflict and fighting within the region has escalated and because the area is a mining zone with “high levels of population movement,” according to WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus. The world’s deadliest outbreak of Ebola was in 2014 in three West African nations: Guinea, Sierra Leone and Liberia. More than 11,300 people died and it took almost two years to control it. That epidemic was caused by the Zaire virus, which is the most common and deadliest form of Ebola. Ebola isn’t a respiratory virus, so it doesn’t spread far. However, it can spread easily through blood, saliva and other bodily fluids, as well as contaminated surfaces. Handling the bodies of victims is also a known risk for transmitting the virus. Ebola causes hemorrhagic fever and affects the body’s blood vessels, damaging vital organs as the virus builds up in the body. Early symptoms include fever, headache, sore throat, fatigue and achy muscles. There’s no vaccine or treatment for the Bundibugyo virus, although there are two potential vaccine candidates, according to the WHO. Neither is ready for testing on humans. There are four species of the Ebola virus that are known to cause disease in humans, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. The Bundibugyo virus was discovered in western Uganda less than 20 years ago. This is just the third time Bundibugyo has been the cause of an identified outbreak. Experts believe African fruit bats may be the source of the virus.