Uganda declares end to latest Ebola outbreak short of WHO waiting period guidelines

Uganda's health minister announced on Tuesday that the country is now free of the Ebola virus, concluding the latest outbreak of the hemorrhagic disease. The outbreak infected 20 individuals, resulting in two deaths.

The announcement follows the discharge of the last Ebola patient, a Congolese national, on June 22. This occurred before the 42-day waiting period typically required by the World Health Organization to officially declare an outbreak ended. Health Minister Chris Baryomunsi stated the declaration was made after the successful completion of a mandatory 42-day monitoring period that began after the last locally transmitted patient was discharged on June 16, 2026.

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successful completion of the mandatory 42-day monitoring period which began after the discharge of the last Ugandan national, a locally transmitted patient, on the 16 of June, 2026.

Of the 20 confirmed cases during this outbreak, 18 were treated and discharged, while two patients, both from the Democratic Republic of Congo, died from the virus. Officials highlighted Uganda's accumulated expertise from multiple Ebola outbreaks since 2000, which has enabled the country to quickly control recent infections and limit community spread.

Baryomunsi confirmed that intensive nationwide surveillance detected no new Ebola cases throughout the monitoring period. Uganda's geography, with extensive tropical forests inhabited by fruit bats, natural reservoirs for the virus, makes it susceptible to frequent outbreaks. The virus spreads through contact with infected bodily fluids and tissues, causing symptoms such as severe headache, vomiting, muscle pain, and bleeding.

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Throughout this period, the Ministry of Health maintained intensive surveillance nationwide, and no new Ebola cases have been detected.