Uganda declares Ebola outbreak over as regional fears ease

Uganda declared itself free of Ebola after 42 days without a new confirmed case, closing an outbreak that left the country with 20 confirmed infections, two deaths and no current admissions. The milestone eased pressure on hospitals, border health teams and communities that had lived under infection-control measures, even as health officials kept a wary eye on neighboring eastern Congo.

The Ministry of Health said the 42-day countdown began after the last Ebola patient was discharged on 16 July. Its update dated 21 July listed 20 cumulative confirmed cases, including 15 imported cases and five local cases, along with 18 recoveries and two cumulative deaths. That waiting period follows the World Health Organization’s standard for declaring an outbreak over, based on two incubation cycles without a new confirmed case.

The last patient’s discharge marked the turning point. BBC News described it as a “moment of joy” and said Uganda then had no active confirmed cases. The declaration matters because Ebola can kill a high share of those infected and can overwhelm weaker health systems if transmission is not cut quickly.

Uganda’s response drew on experience from earlier outbreaks. In January 2025, the Ministry of Health declared an Ebola outbreak after the death of a male nurse at the national referral hospital on 29 January, and about 45 contacts in Kampala and Mbale were quarantined. The World Health Organization later said eight confirmed cases in that 2025 Sudan virus outbreak received care in treatment centers in Kampala and Mbale and were discharged on 18 February. Those cases showed the same playbook at work: contact tracing, isolation, community education and rapid response.

The regional picture remains more fragile. The World Health Organization and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention were still tracking Ebola activity in the Democratic Republic of the Congo as Uganda closed its outbreak, and health agencies warned that the virus in eastern Congo was outpacing the response. Africa CDC held an emergency briefing on the Bundibugyo outbreak in the Democratic Republic of the Congo and Uganda on 23 May 2026, underscoring how quickly cross-border threats can spill over.

For Uganda, the declaration is a real public-health win, but not a signal to stand down. Border surveillance, laboratory testing and fast case detection will remain central as long as Ebola is active next door.