Ebola disease is caused by a group of viruses, known as orthoebolaviruses. It affects both humans and animals and spreads through close contact with infected bodily fluids or contaminated materials.
The disease was first identified in 1976 during outbreaks in Zaire, which is now the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) and Sudan (now South Sudan).
Between 1979 and 1994, no human cases or outbreaks were reported. Since 1994 however, intermittent outbreaks have occurred including the large outbreak in West Africa between 2014 and 2016. Several outbreaks have occurred since then in recent years. On 17 May 2026, the World Health Organization (WHO) declared a public health emergency of international concern for an Ebola disease outbreak, caused by Bundibugyo virus, affecting the Democratic Republic of the Congo and Uganda.
What does this outbreak mean for the UK population?
The current Ebola outbreak poses a low risk to the UK population. Although the outbreak is serious, it is rare for Ebola cases to occur in returning travellers. In the UK, the NHS has safe procedures in place for any such cases and specialist centres where they can be looked after.
The WHO declares a Public Health Emergency of International Concern when there is a serious disease outbreak that requires increased international awareness, coordination and support. The declaration helps scale up collaboration and funding to respond to the outbreak in the affected region.
As part of our surveillance work, UKHSA routinely monitors outbreaks of infectious disease around the world and continually assesses the risk to the UK.
What are the symptoms of Ebola?
Symptoms of Ebola can appear suddenly between 2 and 21 days after being infected.
Initially symptoms are flu-like, and can include a high temperature, extreme tiredness, muscle aches, sore throat and a headache.
Other symptoms that can follow include vomiting, diarrhoea and stomach pain, a skin rash, bruising and yellowing of the skin and eyes. In more severe cases, Ebola can cause bleeding as it progresses. This may include blood in poo and bleeding from different parts of the body.
How does Ebola spread?
Ebola only spreads through close contact. The spread, or transmission, of Ebola happens person-to-person, through contact with the body fluids of an infected, sick or dead person. In rare cases, people can become infected through contact with an infected animal, like a bat or non-human primate in a country where animals carry the virus.
Importantly, infected people can only spread the virus once symptoms start and it is not spread during the incubation period before symptoms begin.
How serious is Ebola?
Ebola is a rare but serious disease that can sometimes be fatal to humans.
The average Ebola disease case fatality rate is around 50% . Case fatality rates have varied from 25–90% in past outbreaks.
What is UK Health Security Agency’s role in Ebola outbreaks?
We are responsible for protecting the UK from infectious disease threats like Ebola, monitoring outbreaks overseas and coordinating the UK's public health response when they occur.
When a serious outbreak is identified overseas, UKHSA activates its response systems. UKHSA teams will work to assess and monitor the situation and provide up to date information and advice to the public, travellers and the NHS. UKHSA also works with the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office, Department for Transport, and Border Force to ensure travellers returning from affected areas know what to do if they develop symptoms. We provide testing services to the NHS for anyone who is unwell after travelling to the affected areas and support workers returning from the outbreak area.
During outbreaks as large and serious as the multi-country West Africa outbreak in 2014, it is vital that the global community works together to respond, which strengthens health security for all of us. UKHSA’s predecessor organisations played a central role in the response alongside colleagues from across the international public health community.
The organisation set up and operated three diagnostic laboratories in Sierra Leone, where the outbreak started, which significantly accelerated case detection times. A number of staff were deployed to West Africa including microbiologists, epidemiologists and clinical scientists, all of whom assisted in managing field labs and working with the WHO to track transmission of the virus. Working alongside local clinicians and scientists, staff worked to train thousands of local healthcare workers in infection prevention and control procedures.