Ebola has been in the news since the World Health Organization's declaration of a public health emergency of international concern on 17 May 2026, for an outbreak affecting the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) and Uganda. This blog post outlines what the disease is, how it spreads, and what it means for the UK.
What is Ebola?
Ebola disease is caused by a group of viruses known as orthoebolaviruses. It affects both humans and animals, and was first identified in 1976 during near-simultaneous outbreaks in Zaire, now the DRC, and Sudan, now South Sudan.
Between 1979 and 1994, no human cases were reported. Since then, outbreaks have occurred with increasing frequency, including a large West Africa outbreak between 2014 and 2016, which caused over 28,000 reported cases and saw intense transmission in urban areas for the first time. Several countries, including the UK, reported imported cases linked to that outbreak.
Four species of the virus are known to cause disease in humans, alongside a fifth found only in animals so far, and a sixth discovered specifically in bats in 2018, whose potential to infect humans is still unknown.
What is the risk for the UK?
The current outbreak poses a low risk to the UK population. Imported cases are extremely rare, and only 4 confirmed cases have been reported in the UK since 1976, and there have been no UK deaths from the disease. The NHS has established procedures and specialist centres for managing any suspected cases.
How do you catch Ebola?
Ebola spreads through close contact. Person-to-person transmission happens through contact with the body fluids of someone who is infected, sick or has died from the disease, or through contact with contaminated objects such as needles or soiled clothing.
In rarer cases, people become infected through contact with infected animals, such as bats or non-human primates, in countries where the virus is present. Fruit bats are believed to be the natural reservoir for the virus: a species where the virus can live, grow, and multiply.
Importantly, an infected person can only spread the virus once symptoms begin. There's no evidence that Ebola spreads through intact skin, or through coughing or sneezing, in the way that flu or COVID-19 does. The virus can also persist in certain parts of the body, including the testes, eyes and central nervous system, after someone has recovered, and transmission through sexual contact with a survivor has been documented, with the virus detectable in semen for over a year.
What are the symptoms?
Symptoms usually appear suddenly, between 2 and 21 days after infection, with an average of 8 to 10 days. Early symptoms are flu-like: high temperature, extreme tiredness, muscle aches, sore throat and headache.
These are often followed a few days later by vomiting, diarrhoea and stomach pain. Some people go on to develop a rash, cough, shortness of breath, red eyes, bruising, and yellowing of the skin and eyes. In more severe cases, bleeding can occur as the disease progresses. This may include blood in poo and bleeding from different parts of the body.
Because early symptoms are non-specific, diagnosis can be difficult, and cases are sometimes mistaken for malaria, typhoid or meningitis in the early stages. Laboratory testing, carried out under high-level biological containment, is needed to confirm infection.
How serious is Ebola?
Ebola is rare but can be fatal. The average case fatality rate is around 50%, though this has ranged from 25% to 90% in past outbreaks, depending on the virus species and other factors, including patients' age and access to care.
Can it be treated?
There's no specific cure, but patients require intensive supportive care, including fluids and help maintaining blood pressure and oxygen levels. Two monoclonal antibody treatments are available for Ebola caused by the Zaire virus species, the strain responsible for most major outbreaks, though there are currently no licensed treatments for other species.
Is there an Ebola vaccine?
Two vaccines are licensed to help prevent infection from the Zaire virus. One is given as a single dose and can be used to respond quickly during an outbreak. The other requires 2 doses given 8 weeks apart, so is less suited to emergency response but can still play a role in prevention. Neither vaccine is currently effective against the Sudan virus species, though vaccines for this strain are in development.
Preventing spread relies heavily on strict infection control. Patients need to be isolated, and healthcare workers and carers need to use appropriate protective equipment, since procedures like handling blood or inserting intravenous lines carry particular risk. The bodies of those who have died from Ebola remain highly infectious and must be safely buried or cremated.
What is UKHSA’s role in Ebola outbreaks?
UKHSA is responsible for protecting the UK from health threats like Ebola. This means monitoring outbreaks overseas, assessing risk to the UK, and coordinating the public health response when needed. UKHSA also works with the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office (FCDO), the Department for Transport (DfT) and Border Force, so that travellers returning from affected areas know what to do if they develop symptoms. We also provide testing through the NHS for anyone who becomes unwell after travelling to an affected region.
The UK Public Health Rapid Support Team (UK-PHRST) helps low- and middle-income countries respond to infectious disease outbreaks. The team was established after the 2014 to 2015 West Africa Ebola outbreak and funded by the Department of Health and Social Care (DHSC). To date, the team has delivered both in-person and remote deployments to support World Health Organization (WHO), both in WHO headquarters and country offices in DRC, the Republic of the Congo and South Sudan. We have offered technical expertise across a range of disciplines including infection prevention and control, epidemiology, risk communication and community engagement, data modelling and readiness training at both country and regional levels.
The deployments follow formal requests for assistance through the Global Outbreak Alert and Response Network, with UK-PHRST working alongside WHO, UNICEF and partners throughout.
The DHSC-funded, UKHSA-delivered International Health Regulations Strengthening Project (IHR-SP) is supporting the Ebola response within our partner countries and across the region. We’ve helped the Africa Centres for Disease Control and Prevention establish an expert advisory cell to guide strategy, and by strengthening cross-border surveillance and coordination in higher-risk countries, including an agreement between Uganda and South Sudan to improve health security collaboration. The response has shown the value of embedding UKHSA experts within African institutions from the outset of an emergency, providing immediate, trusted support while building longer-term regional health security capacity.
Where can I find out more?
There is a dedicated page on GOV.UK that lists outbreaks and case locations of haemorrhagic fevers Ebola and Marburg.