Uganda Declares Itself Free of Ebola as DR Congo’s Outbreak Continues
Meanwhile, 14 Americans were recently quarantined at Fort Drum after returning from the DRC.
There is some good news regarding the current Ebola outbreak in Central Africa.
Uganda has been declared “free” of the hemorrhagic virus after the last patient was discharged in mid-June, even as the case load continues to rise in neighboring Congo.
Uganda always insisted its outbreak was linked to the larger one that started in eastern Congo’s province of Ituri, which shares a land border with Uganda.
According to local authorities, the first cases in Uganda’s outbreak were Congolese people who crossed the border to seek treatment for an unknown illness before it was known they had Ebola.
Congo declared its outbreak on May 15, the same day Uganda confirmed two Ebola cases — including a man who had already died.
“Unlike previous Ebola outbreaks that informed the current 42-day declaration policy, Uganda’s 2026 Ebola outbreak arose from a fully documented importation event,” the Ugandan Ministry of Health said in a statement Tuesday.
Uganda declares itself free of Ebola after last patient was discharged in mid-June https://t.co/nMPHapenUK
— O.C. Register (@ocregister) July 28, 2026
The news is a bit grimmer for the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC). The country is close to surpassing its previous record high in infections, with well over 3,000 cases reported.
The Democratic Republic of Congo is grappling with an escalating Ebola outbreak, with confirmed cases now reaching 3,262 – a figure almost on par with the country’s largest recorded epidemic between 2018 and 2020.
The Ministry of Health reported overnight that 1,437 patients have died from the 3,262 cases, marking what officials describe as the fastest Ebola outbreak on record, primarily concentrated in the eastern Ituri province.
This rapid spread is particularly alarming when compared to the 2018-2020 outbreak, which spanned roughly two years across Congo and neighbouring Uganda, resulting in over 3,400 reported cases and more than 2,200 deaths, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control. Globally, only the devastating 2014-2016 West African outbreak, with 28,000 cases and over 11,000 fatalities, surpassed this toll.
…Residents express concerns that many communities in affected provinces are either inaccessible or have been abandoned by responders due to safety fears, following attacks from both angry locals and rebel groups.
Ebola Cases in Congo Top 3,200, Nearing Record of the Country’s Worst Outbreakhttps://t.co/fVnePnLFBw
— Asharq Al-Awsat English (@aawsat_eng) July 28, 2026
As I noted in a previous report, the convergence of a particularly lethal Ebola strain, unpaid and striking health workers, and insurgent-controlled territory certainly presents challenges for a country struggling to battle this outbreak.
Public health response cannot succeed where governance is fractured, logistics are crippled, and trust is already in short supply….no matter how robust the “pandemic response plans” are.
Meanwhile, 14 American travelers were recently quarantined at Fort Drum in New York last week after returning from the Democratic Republic of Congo.
The travelers flew from the Democratic Republic of Congo into Canada and attempted to enter the United States through border crossings in New York and Vermont. They were stopped at those crossings on Thursday and spent that night at the Vermont border crossing before being transported to Fort Drum on Friday.
At Fort Drum, the travelers were housed in apartment-style quarters and placed under observation by officials from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. They were released Monday and have since left the area by bus and plane.
A Pentagon official said Fort Drum accepted the group “to provide a temporary, isolated assessment facility and life support,” and that the travelers received medical evaluations from the CDC, according to Reuters.
A Fort Drum spokesperson said, “There is a unique, deeply personal significance when we are called to serve on the home front,” and that the Army’s 10th Mountain Division is “prepared to step in whenever called upon by the Department of War.”
A division spokesperson also said the public would have been told of “all necessary information” if any threat to public health had been determined.
14 Americans quarantined at Fort Drum after returning from Ebola outbreak country #VT #NY https://t.co/L0ZXELwEE0
— Channel 3 News (@wcax) July 25, 2026
It’s good to see the outbreak in Uganda being contained. Sadly, the situation in the DRC will mean the outbreak will continue for some time to come.
The situation is a reminder that disease containment depends as much on political stability as on medical capability, and it’s important to note that our country remains alert to international disease transmission risks.
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Comments
Yeah, I believe that.
Rushing to have my tickets reissued.
Another Uganda Update:
“Uganda declares itself free from Mamdani”
“We finally off loaded that sucker in NYC”
Not surprising. Ebola has always been a seasonal problem in Africa. It will run down in DRC, too. Eventually.
“the first cases in Uganda’s outbreak were Congolese people who crossed the border to seek treatment for an unknown illness before it was known they had Ebola.”
“The situation is a reminder that disease containment depends as much on political stability as on medical capability”
…and effective border control.
Open borders are suicide.