Jennifer Mendoza
Research expert covering health, pharma and medtech
Ebola - Statistics & Facts
As of May 17 2026, a new Ebola outbreak in the eastern DRC has been declared a public health emergency of international concern (PHEIC) after spreading across the border to Uganda. The outbreak is caused by the Bundibugyo strain, for which no approved vaccine or targeted treatment is currently available, though supportive care remains critical. As of July 16, over 2,000 confirmed cases and more than 750 confirmed deaths had been reported, with most cases taking place in the DRC. Out of the total, 20 cases and two deaths took place in Uganda, while a case was recently confirmed in France. The WHO warns that the outbreak could be larger than official figures show.
The Ebola virus disease (EVD)
The Ebola virus disease (EVD) was first discovered in Zaire, today the Democratic Republic of Congo, in 1976. The virus takes its name from the Ebola river as the first cases of the virus were reported in an area along this river. Around the same time, the Ebola disease was also identified in parts of Sudan (in what is today South Sudan). These first two known outbreaks caused 318 cases and 280 deaths in Zaire, and 284 cases and 151 deaths in Sudan. Thus, the Zaire Ebola virus showed a significantly higher fatality rate than the Sudanese strain. Ebola outbreaks have since occurred intermittently, predominantly in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), and in many cases have been contained more quickly in recent years due to enhanced surveillance, the availability of vaccines for the Zaire strain, and improvements in clinical care.
Symptoms, transmission, and disease progression
When infected with the Ebola virus, within two to 21 days people start to show symptoms that are similar to other tropical diseases or to influenza: fever and sweating, weakness, headache, body aches and pains, then vomiting and diarrhea. Five to seven days after the first symptoms start, some patients may develop internal and external bleeding. Ebola is believed to be transmitted to humans through contact with infected animals, particularly fruit bats, and through activities such as hunting or handling bush meat. While the virus is known to mutate over time, its adaptation to humans is not yet fully understood. Once it is settled within human bodies, the virus is easily spread through blood and other bodily fluids.
The 2013-2016 West African outbreakÂ
The 2013–2016 West African outbreak remains the largest Ebola epidemic recorded to date. As of March 2016, this outbreak had resulted in almost 29,000 cases and over 11,300 deaths. The most affected countries included Guinea, Liberia and Sierra Leone, and the worst hit areas remain under heightened surveillance. The first victim of this epidemic died in late December 2013 in Guinea. The World Health Organization (WHO) reported a major outbreak for the region in March 2014. Five months later, it declared the outbreak an international public health emergency. The West African outbreak involved the Zaire Ebola virus, the deadliest of all Ebola virus strains. By the end of 2014, further related Ebola cases had been reported in Nigeria, Senegal, Mali, and even Spain, the United States, and the United Kingdom.
The impact of this outbreak was felt both socially and economically. It was estimated that as of February 2015, the outbreak had resulted in 780 hours of learning lost due to school closures in Sierra Leone. Economically, the outbreak was calculated to cost Sierra Leone a decrease of 286.8 million U.S. dollars in GDP. It was estimated that in all of West Africa this loss could equal some 4.4 billion dollars in GDP in 2015.
