What Ebola Global Emergency Means for Americans

The United Nations’ health agency has declared an Ebola outbreak in two African countries a “public health emergency of international concern,” with no cases reported in the U.S.

At least 80 people are believed to have died from the disease in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) and Uganda in the current outbreak so far, although health experts say this number is likely to rise as tracing of people exposed to the viruses causing Ebola gets underway.

Laboratories have confirmed eight cases of Ebola in the DRC, on top of another nearly 250 other suspected cases, according to health officials. Two apparently unrelated cases have been reported in neighboring Uganda, including one death.

Are There Ebola Cases in the US?

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) says it is monitoring the situation, but that no cases from this current outbreak have been detected in the U.S. so far.

The CDC says its offices in the DRC and Uganda are providing assistance to local teams, including for tracking people who may have been exposed to the virus and screening travelers at border points.

CDC Acting Director Jay Bhattacharya said on Friday that U.S. teams had “extensive experience and expertise in ​responding to Ebola outbreaks.”

The CDC has had an office in the DRC since 2002, and the central African country has experienced at least 17 Ebola outbreaks in the past 50 years.

The U.S. Embassy in Uganda has also issued a travel advisory, urging Americans to reconsider travel because the U.S. government has "extremely limited" ability to assist citizens in DRC's Ituri province.

“Do not travel to this area for any reason,” it said.

The CDC said travelers should be on the alert for any of the common symptoms of Ebola, and should isolate immediately if they experience signs of infection.

Anyone presenting with Ebola symptoms should not travel and should reach out to local health authorities, the CDC says.

The Situation in Africa

The Africa Centres for Disease Control and Prevention (Africa CDC) says the outbreak started in the Ituri province in the DRC’s northeast, on the border with Uganda.

The continent’s top health agency, which is in charge of the response to the outbreak, said lots of people cross the border in the area and there was an “urgent need for coordinated continental action to prevent further spread” of Ebola.

Ebola is caused by a group of viruses, one of which is the Bundibugyo virus detected in the DRC in recent days. It develops into a type of Ebola.

It is often hard to diagnose because many of the symptoms of Ebola are similar to those that patients with malaria, typhoid fever, and other diseases experience.

Another strain is called the Sudan virus.

What Is a Global Health Emergency?

The World Health Organization (WHO) said the outbreak did not meet the threshold to be defined as a “pandemic emergency.”

The WHO created this category in 2024 after the COVID-19 pandemic so international authorities could work more quickly when a public health emergency of international concern risked spreading into a pandemic.

Ashish Jha, who previously served as the White House COVID-19 response coordinator, said this announcement was only the ninth time the WHO had declared a “public health emergency of international concern.”

“The real outbreak likely far larger than reported,” Jha said.

What Are Ebola Symptoms?

Symptoms of Ebola can start to show up between two days and three weeks after being infected. Health experts warn symptoms can feel like coming down with the flu, including experiencing:

• High temperature/fever
• Extreme tiredness/fatigue
• Headaches
• Muscle pain
• Vomiting
• Diarrhea
• Rashes and bruising across the body
• Sore throat
• Yellowed skin and/or eyes
• Bleeding from the nose, eyes, mouth or nose
• Blood in stools or vomit

The WHO says that bleeding is one of the least common symptoms of Ebola, but can come on later as the disease progresses.

The average fatality rate for Ebola is around 50 percent, but survival statistics can vary widely. In previous outbreaks, up to 90 percent of people who developed Ebola died from the disease, although in some cases the fatality rate stood at approximately 25 percent.

Those with the virus are more likely to survive if they are admitted to intensive care early, and are kept hydrated.

People cannot transmit Ebola before they present with symptoms, but can be infectious as long as the virus remains in their blood, even if the symptoms lessen.

What Scientists Don’t Know About Ebola

Experts currently believe fruit bats may be the source of the viruses that develop into the different variants of Ebola.

Other animals and people can then become infected from another carrier of the virus, such as through contaminated items or bodily fluids. For example, infection can be passed on through blood or saliva, clothes or bedding used by an infected person, or from human contact with infected animals.

Semen from someone who has suffered from and then recovered from Ebola can also transmit the virus, according to the CDC.

Although vaccines are in the works for Sudan virus and the Bundibugyo strain, no effective jab has yet been offered against them.

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This story was originally published May 17, 2026 at 12:26 PM.