An Ebola outbreak, primarily in Africa but with global implications, has now led to the proclamation of a public health emergency, prompting countries, including Asia, to check visitors' temperatures and strengthen surveillance systems.
While the Ebola outbreak is concentrated in Africa, its designation as a public health emergency has triggered precautionary measures worldwide, including in Asia. A visitor has his temperature checked by a health worker before entering Kyeshero Hospital in Goma, DR Congo, on May 18, 2026.
Add CNA as a trusted source to help Google better understand and surface our content in search results. More than 500 cases and 131 suspected deaths have been reported so far. While Ebola outbreaks have historically been contained within Africa, the scale and geographic spread of this one are prompting countries, including in Asia, to step up vigilance. Ebola is a severe and often fatal disease caused by the Ebola virus.
It spreads through direct contact with the blood and bodily fluids of an infected person, or through contact with contaminated surfaces. Symptoms typically begin suddenly, and include fever, fatigue, malaise, muscle pain and headache. As the disease progresses, patients may develop vomiting, diarrhoea, abdominal pain, unexplained bleeding and organ failure. Importantly, infected individuals are not contagious until symptoms appear.
The incubation period for Ebola ranges from two to 21 days. The Bundibugyo strain is rare, with only two previous outbreaks recorded - in 2007-2008 and in 2012. It has a mortality rate of 30 to 40 per cent, much lower than the Zaire strain, which causes death in up to 90 per cent of infected people, according to a study published in 2024.
However, experts said the current concern lies elsewhere. There are no approved vaccines or drugs specifically for the Bundibugyo strain.
"This is the third Bundabugio Ebola virus disease outbreak ever, and it is a species that we haven't seen that much," said Dr Nahid Bhadelia, founding director of Boston University's Center on Emerging Infectious Diseases. "That means we don't have as much clinical experience, but also because it hasn't been that common, there haven't been as many investments in vaccines and therapeutics. "The outbreak is also proving difficult to track.
Cases are spread across remote and, in some instances, conflict-affected areas, where access to healthcare and testing is limited. Early detection has been challenging. Initial tests returned negative results in some cases, partly because they were not designed to detect the Bundibugyo strain. Health officials said the outbreak may have circulated undetected for weeks before it was identified.
At the same time, overlapping outbreaks of endemic diseases such as malaria and cholera have made it harder to identify Ebola cases quickly. Cuts to international aid and public health funding have also weakened surveillance and response capacity on the ground, experts said, even as fresh funding is now being mobilised.
"Funding for things like malaria medications, bed nets and other sanitation programmes has gone down. That means other endemic diseases, like malaria and cholera, have increased in the area," Dr Bhadelia told CNA.
"So, if Ebola is kind of like a needle in a haystack, and the haystack of endemic infectious diseases has gone up, it makes it harder to find the Ebola cases out of that. "The WHO on May 16 declared the Ebola outbreak in Congo and Uganda an emergency of international concern. This is the agency's highest formal alarm under international health law.
It is used for extraordinary outbreaks that pose a cross-border public health risk and require a coordinated international response. The designation does not signal that the current outbreak is expected to become a global pandemic, but it is intended to mobilise funding, technical support and preparedness efforts. Dr Bhadelia stressed that Ebola does not pose the same global pandemic risk as airborne viruses like COVID-19, as it requires close contact to spread.
The WHO's declaration was issued partly because this is DR Congo's 17th Ebola outbreak, she noted, most of which were"handled within a matter of weeks".
"The trouble with this is that everything about this outbreak so far is telling us that we aren't discovering a new outbreak, we are just surfacing more details about an outbreak that has been going on for a while, so that's the number of suspect cases and deaths that we see, but also how widespread it is currently," Dr Bhadelia said. While the outbreak is concentrated in Africa, its designation as a public health emergency has triggered precautionary measures worldwide, including in Asia.
Countries such as Singapore, Thailand and Indonesia have stepped up surveillance, particularly at airports and border checkpoints, to reduce the risk of imported cases.at all entry points, alongside requirements for travellers to declare their health status and travel history. Suspected cases must be reported immediately, and symptomatic travellers may be subject to on-site medical assessment. Thailand and Indonesia have similarly enhanced screening and coordination with healthcare providers, even though no cases have been detected locally.
The United States was among the first to announce that it was screening air passengers from outbreak-hit areas and temporarily suspending visa services, after an American medical missionary contracted Ebola in DR Congo. It also urged Americans to avoid travel to the DRC, South Sudan and Uganda, and to reconsider travel to Rwanda.
"One of the things that has worked really well in the past is airport screenings, particularly for patients or passengers coming from those areas on both sides, when people are boarding and when they're leaving, and that's one of the things that all the affected countries are putting into place," Dr Bhadelia said. "It's always a good idea, if you're travelling for long flights, to, of course, maintain good hygiene, wash your hands, and wear a mask, particularly if you think there might be people who might be sick around you, or if you yourself might be sick," she said.
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