Ebola Outbreaks 2000-2017

This section has archived postings of outbreaks that have occurred since the year 2000.

2017 Democratic Republic of the Congo, Bas Uélé District

On May 11, 2017, the Ministry of Public Health of the Democratic Republic of the Congo notified international public health agencies of a cluster of suspected cases of Ebola Virus Disease (EVD) in the Likati health zone of the province of Bas Uélé. The first report mentioned 8 suspected cases, including two deaths, with a third death reported on May 12. Testing of samples was conducted by the Institut National de Recherche Biomedicale (INRB) in Kinshasa, with two samples testing positive for Ebola Zaire by reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) test. Teams from international agencies, including CDC, WHO, MSF (Doctors without Borders), and others, supported the Ministry of Public Health’s epidemiologic, diagnostic, clinical, and communications efforts to respond to the outbreak. The response faced challenging logistical obstacles, including the remoteness of the area and limited services. Mobile diagnostic laboratories provided testing of samples in the affected areas. Following a period of 42 days since the second negative laboratory diagnostic test of the last confirmed patient, WHO declared an end to the outbreak on July 2, 2017.

• Total cases (probable or confirmed): 8
• Laboratory confirmed: 5
• Deaths: 4

Latest CDC Outbreak Information

2014-2016: Ebola Outbreak in West Africa

The West Africa Ebola outbreak was the largest in history, affecting multiple countries in, and beyond, West Africa. Two imported cases, including one death, and two locally acquired cases in healthcare workers were reported in the United States. CDC worked with other U.S. government agencies, the World Health Organization, and other domestic and international partners to coordinate response activities and technical assistance in the areas of epidemiology, laboratory diagnostics, vaccine development, health/risk communication, and post-outbreak emergency preparedness. CDC deployed numerous rotating teams of public health experts to West Africa and continues its partnerships with the affected countries in conducting post-outbreak studies on surviving patients. According to the WHO, 28,616 suspected, probable, and confirmed cases with a total of 11,310 deaths were recorded in Guinea, Liberia, and Sierra Leone.

2014: Ebola Outbreak in Democratic Republic of the Congo

On August 24, 2014, the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) Ministry of Health notified the World Health Organization (WHO) of an outbreak of Ebola virus disease (EVD) in Equateur Province. The index case was a pregnant woman from Ikanamongo Village who butchered a bush animal. She became ill with symptoms of EVD, reported to a private clinic in Isaka Village, and died on August 11, 2014. Local customs and rituals associated with death meant that several healthcare workers were exposed to Ebola virus. A total of 66 cases, including 38 laboratory confirmed cases, and a total of 49 deaths were reported.

On November 21, 2014, the WHO reported that 42 days had passed since the last case tested negative twice and was discharged from a hospital in the Democratic Republic of the Congo.

Latest CDC Outbreak Information
Updated November 21, 2014

2012: Ebola Hemorrhagic Fever Outbreak in Uganda

As of December 2, 2012, the Uganda Ministry of Health reported 7 cumulative cases (probable and confirmed) of Ebola virus infection, including 4 deaths, in the Luwero District of central Uganda. CDC assisted the Ministry of Health in the epidemiologic and diagnostic aspects of the outbreak. Testing of samples by CDC’s Viral Special Pathogens Branch took place at the Uganda Virus Research Institute in Entebbe. Reported numbers are subject to change.

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2012: Ebola Hemorrhagic Fever Outbreak in Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC)

The DRC Ministry of Health declared an end to the most recent Ebola outbreak in DRC’s Province Orientale. The November 26 press release reported a final total of 77 cases, including 36 laboratory-confirmed cases, 17 probable and 24 suspect cases, with a total of 36 deaths. CDC assisted the Ministry of Health in the epidemiologic and diagnostic aspects of the investigation. Laboratory support was provided through CDC’s field laboratory in Isiro, and the CDC/UVRI lab in Uganda. The Public Health Agency of Canada (PHAC) provided diagnostic support through its field lab in Isiro. The outbreak in DRC had no epidemiologic link to the near contemporaneous Ebola outbreak in the Kibaale district of Uganda. Reported numbers are subject to change.

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2012: Ebola Hemorrhagic Fever Outbreak in Uganda

On July 28, 2012, the Uganda Ministry of Health reported an outbreak of Ebola Hemorrhagic Fever in the Kibaale District of Uganda. A total of 24 human cases (probable and confirmed only), 17 of which were fatal, were reported starting at the beginning of July. Laboratory tests of blood samples conducted by the Uganda Virus Research Institute (UVRI) and CDC confirmed Ebola virus in 11 patients, four of whom died. Reported numbers are subject to change.

On October 4, 2012, the Uganda Ministry of Health declared the outbreak ended.

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2011: Ebola Hemorrhagic Fever Case in Uganda

On May 14, 2011, the Uganda Ministry of Health informed the public that a patient with suspected Ebola Hemorrhagic fever died May 6, 2011, in Luwero district, Uganda. CDC-Uganda confirmed a positive Ebola virus test result from a blood sample taken from the patient. The quick diagnosis of Ebola virus was provided by the new CDC Viral Hemorrhagic Fever laboratory installed at the Uganda Viral Research Institute (UVRI).

Experts from the CDC arrived in Entebbe to actively assist the Uganda Ministry of Health, local health officials and international organizations in disease response. There are no other known cases.

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2008: Ebola-Reston Virus Detected in Pigs in Philippines

On October 25, 2008, CDC received samples of pig tissues, sera and cell cultures from FADDL, the Foreign Animal Disease Diagnostic Laboratory on Plum Island, New York. The samples, originally collected from pig farms outside Manila, initially were tested at the Plum Island facility, which identified multiple swine pathogens, including Porcine Reproductive and Respiratory Syndrome (PRRS) virus and porcine circovirus type 2. Additional testing by molecular analysis also tentatively identified, for the first time in pigs, Ebola-Reston virus. Further testing of the samples at CDC’s Special Pathogens Branch and Infectious Disease Pathology Branch confirmed the presence of Ebola-Reston virus. Sequence analysis conducted at FADDL and CDC revealed the virus is similar to the Ebola-Reston virus that infected macaques from the Philippines imported into the United States for research in 1989, 1990 and 1996, and into Italy in 1992.

The clinical significance of Ebola-Reston in pigs is unknown, since many of the samples were obtained from pigs with dual PRRSV and Ebola-Reston virus infections. Epidemiologic investigations by Philippine authorities are continuing to look for evidence of human disease associated with infected pigs. Ebola-Reston virus is of unknown pathogenicity in humans. Recent studies of small numbers of Philippine slaughterhouse workers with no clinical disease revealed antibodies to Ebola-Reston virus.

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2007: Ebola Hemorrhagic Fever Outbreak in Uganda

On November 26, 2007, CDC received blood samples from the Uganda Ministry of Health, taken from 20 of the 49 patients involved in an outbreak of an unknown illness in Bundibugyo district in western Uganda. Patients reported fever, enteritis, and bleeding. Of the 49 patients, 14 died. Genetic sequencing of a small segment of viral RNA from samples indicated the presence of a previously unknown strain of Ebola virus. At the invitation of the Uganda Ministry of Health, CDC, WHO, MSF and other collaborators deployed field investigators to the affected region. A laboratory was set up in Entebbe at the Uganda Virus Research Institute (UVRI). As the outbreak neared conclusion in January 2008, the total number of suspected cases was 149, with 37 deaths.

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2007: Ebola Hemorrhagic Fever Outbreak in Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC)

On August 28, 2007, CDC was notified of cases of an unidentified disease in a remote area of Kasai Occidental Province in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC). Clinical samples were sent to the CDC Special Pathogens Branch laboratory for testing, as well as to the Centre International de Recherches Médicales de Franceville (CIRMF) laboratory in Gabon. Results obtained by both Real Time PCR and viral antigen assay tested positive for infection with Ebola virus. The presence of other diseases in the same area of the country contributing to the outbreak cannot be ruled out. At the invitation of the DRC Ministry of Health, CDC, WHO, MSF and other collaborators deployed field investigators to the region. Onset of the latest laboratory-confirmed case was September 29, 2007. On October 1, 2007, the total of suspected cases was 249 with 183 deaths.

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2004: Ebola Hemorrhagic Fever Outbreak in South Sudan

According to the World Health Organization (WHO), 20 cases including 5 deaths from Ebola hemorrhagic fever (EHF) were reported from Yambio County in southern Sudan. EHF was laboratory confirmed by CDC and the Kenya Medical Research Institute. CDC has confirmed that the virus is the Ebola-Sudan strain (incubation period 2-21 days), one of three previously recognized Ebola virus strains known to cause human disease.

For related information regarding travel, please see the CDC Travelers’ Health Web site.

For information regarding the recent cases of Ebola hemorrhagic fever in South Sudan, please refer to the World Health Organization’s (WHO) Communicable Disease Surveillance and Response page.

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2003: Ebola Hemorrhagic Fever Outbreak in Republic of the Congo

For information regarding cases of Ebola hemorrhagic fever syndrome in the Republic of the Congo, please refer to the World Health Organization’s (WHO) Communicable Disease Surveillance and Response page.

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2002: Ebola Hemorrhagic Fever Outbreak in Gabon and Republic of the Congo

On May 6, 2002, the Gabonese Ministry of Health declared that the Ebola hemorrhagic fever outbreak in the Ogooué-Ivindo province had ended. CDC participated with the Gabonese and Congolese Ministries of Health, the World Health Organization (WHO), the International Center for Medical Research in Franceville, Gabon, and other partners in an international response to the outbreak in the Ogooué-Ivindo province of Gabon and in neighboring villages in the Republic of the Congo.

Ebola hemorrhagic fever is a severe, often fatal viral hemorrhagic disease. The virus can be transmitted by close contact with persons symptomatic with the disease. On the basis of extensive studies of previous outbreaks of Ebola hemorrhagic fever, general travelers in the area are unlikely to contract the disease. However, travelers are advised to take appropriate precautions to prevent infection. These precautions include avoiding direct contact with people who have serious disease and their bodily fluids.

For more information about the outbreak, please refer to the World Health Organization’s Communicable Disease Surveillance and Response Page.

For more information on the disease, please refer to the Ebola Factsheet [PDF – 3 pages].

For basic recommendations on VHF infection control, please refer to the CDC and WHO manual: Infection Control for Viral Hemorrhagic Fevers In the African Health Care Setting [PDF – 2MB].

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2000-2001: Ebola Hemorrhagic Fever Outbreak in Uganda

On February 27, 2001, Uganda was declared officially to be free of Ebola hemorrhagic fever, following a 42-day period, twice the maximum incubation period, during which no new cases had been reported.

Between October 2000 and February 2001, CDC participated with the World Health Organization (WHO), the Uganda Ministry of Health, Medecins Sans Frontieres (MSF), and other partners in an international response to the outbreak.

For more information about the outbreak in Uganda or about viral hemorrhagic fevers in general, please refer to the following:

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