Evidence map›Paper›PMID 42708069›Full record

ReviewInfection and drug resistance2026

The Re-Emergence of Bundibugyo Ebolavirus in Uganda and the Democratic Republic of Congo: Epidemiological Drivers, Response Strategies, and Implications for Global Health Security.

Gerald Olwit, Ivy Bochaberi Ombongi, Henon Ataryeba, Andrea Nantongo, Babirye Shamim

Abstract readReview
In one paragraph

Review in Infection and drug resistance, 2026. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Not yet cited in PubMed.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
0citing papers in PubMed
–field-weighted citation impact
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

0 citing papers in PubMed.

No citing paper in PubMed yet.

4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

5 authors.

Gerald OlwitDepartment of Internal Medicine, Kabale University School of Medicine, Kabale, Uganda.ORCID 0009-0003-2229-8522
Ivy Bochaberi OmbongiDepartment of Internal Medicine, Jomo Kenyatta University of Agriculture and Technology (JKUAT), Kiambu County, Kenya.ORCID 0009-0003-1381-0096
Henon AtaryebaDepartment of Internal Medicine, Faculty of Medicine, Mbarara University of Science and Technology, Mbarara, Uganda.ORCID 0000-0002-3373-4487
Andrea NantongoDepartment of Internal Medicine, School of Health Sciences, Makerere University, Kampala, Uganda.ORCID 0009-0008-1467-8724
Babirye ShamimDepartment of Public Health, Faculty of Health Sciences, Islamic University in Uganda (IUIU), Mbale, Uganda.ORCID 0009-0002-2492-3671

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

Bundibugyo ebolavirus (BDBV) is one of the least studied species within the genus Orthoebolavirus (family Filoviridae), despite its capacity to cause severe Ebola virus disease (EVD) with substantial mortality. First identified during a 2007-2008 outbreak in Bundibugyo District, western Uganda (149 reported cases, 37 deaths; case-fatality rate [CFR] approximately 25-36%), BDBV re-emerged in 2012 in Orientale Province, Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) (57-59 cases, 29-34 deaths; CFR 34-58%), before resurfacing in Ituri Province, DRC, in April-May 2026. By 11 August 2026, this third outbreak had grown to 4566 laboratory-confirmed cases and 2128 deaths (CFR ≈ 47%) across five DRC provinces and Uganda, becoming the largest, fastest-growing BDBV epidemic on record and the second-largest Ebola-family outbreak overall. This narrative review, not a systematic review or meta-analysis, summarizes peer-reviewed literature, preprints, and official situation reports from WHO, Africa CDC, US CDC, ECDC, and national health ministries, identified through PubMed, Scopus, Web of Science, Google Scholar, and Embase from inception to 12 August 2026, to examine BDBV historical evolution, virology and pathogenesis, drivers of re-emergence, surveillance and response, therapeutic and vaccine gaps, and global health security implications. The 2026 outbreak, unfolding amid conflict and mass displacement in eastern DRC, has been marked by an estimated basic reproduction number of 1.4-2.1 (central estimate 1.71), disproportionate infection among healthcare workers (7.2% of confirmed cases in DRC, 20% in Uganda), and the continued absence of licensed BDBV-specific vaccines or therapeutics. Findings underscore the need for sustained genomic and ecological surveillance, decentralized rapid diagnostics, broadly protective pan-filovirus vaccines, conflict-sensitive response strategies, and strengthened Uganda-DRC collaboration. Because the evidence base for the ongoing outbreak remains preliminary, findings should be interpreted cautiously and revisited as further peer-reviewed data emerge.

Indexed as

Bundibugyo ebolavirusDemocratic Republic of Congoebola virus diseaseepidemic preparednessglobal health securitynarrative reviewoutbreakUganda

Identifiers

PMID42708069
PMCPMC13549297

What OpenQuestion holds

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Registered trials

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Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.