WHO: Ebola ‘Outpacing Us’

Risk of U.S. spread remains low, officials say

May 26, 2026

The Ebola outbreak is spreading rapidly, with 900 suspected cases and 220 suspected deaths, but the risk of global spread remains low, public health officials said this week.

During a briefing Monday, the World Health Organization (WHO) said the risk is high at the regional level, but low at the global level. CDC officials also said the risk of spread in the U.S. is low, but it’s important to raise awareness of the outbreak “among travelers, public health departments, public health and clinical laboratories, and health care workers.”

Here’s what you need to know:

• Background:  On May 15, the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) confirmed an outbreak of Ebola. Cases also have been reported in neighboring Uganda.
• About:  The virus is spread through direct contact with bodily fluids of a sick person or through contact with contaminated needles. It is not spread through airborne transmission.
  • Symptoms can appear two to 21 days after exposure and can include fever, headache, muscle and joint pain, fatigue, loss of appetite, gastrointestinal symptoms, or unexplained bleeding.
  • There are no treatments for the Bundibugyo strain of the virus, but the WHO is prioritizing two monoclonal antibodies in clinical trials.
• By the numbers:  The WHO updated its latest surveillance, which indicates 900 suspected cases and 220 suspected deaths.
• U.S. travel restrictions:  On May 15, the U.S. implemented a Level 1 Travel Health Notice for people traveling to Uganda and a Level 3 Travel Health Notice for people traveling to DRC.
  • Through May 18, there have been no suspected, probable, or confirmed Ebola cases related to this outbreak in the U.S, CDC officials said.
• Quotable:  “First, the delay in detecting the outbreak means that we are now playing catch-up with a very fast-moving epidemic,” said WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus.  “We are urgently scaling up operations, but at the moment, the epidemic is outpacing us.”

HAP continues to monitor the latest public health updates. Additional information from the CDC and the WHO is available online.