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Abstract

Following the Bundibugyo virus disease outbreak reported in the Democratic Republic of the Congo in May 2026, we reviewed all known Ebola disease cases outside Africa and found that intercontinental transmission risk remains low. We identified 28 confirmed epidemic-linked cases outside Africa; only four involved travellers with latent infection whose symptoms were detected after border screening. Excluding medically evacuated cases, the crude overall risk since 2000 was 0.17 Ebola disease cases outside Africa per 1,000 reported cases in Africa.

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/content/10.2807/1560-7917.ES.2026.31.24.2600508
2026-06-18
2026-07-18
/content/10.2807/1560-7917.ES.2026.31.24.2600508
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The risk of global Ebola virus spread is low: epidemiology of Ebola disease cases outside Africa, 1976 to May 2026
<p class="citation"> <span>Citation style for this article:</span> <span class="meta-value authors"> <a href="/search?value1=Kevin+van+Zandvoort&option1=author&noRedirect=true" class="nonDisambigAuthorLink">van Zandvoort Kevin</a>, <a href="/search?value1=Simon+R+Procter&option1=author&noRedirect=true" class="nonDisambigAuthorLink">Procter Simon R</a>, <a href="/search?value1=James+M+Azam&option1=author&noRedirect=true" class="nonDisambigAuthorLink">Azam James M</a>, <a href="/search?value1=Katharine+Sherratt&option1=author&noRedirect=true" class="nonDisambigAuthorLink">Sherratt Katharine</a>, <a href="/search?value1=Nicholas+G+Davies&option1=author&noRedirect=true" class="nonDisambigAuthorLink">Davies Nicholas G</a></span>. The risk of global Ebola virus spread is low: epidemiology of Ebola disease cases outside Africa, 1976 to May 2026. <a href="/content/ecdc">Euro Surveill.</a> 2026;31(24):pii=2600508. <a href="https://doi.org/10.2807/1560-7917.ES.2026.31.24.2600508" title="doi link" target="_blank">https://doi.org/10.2807/1560-7917.ES.2026.31.24.2600508</a> <span class="ES_Article_citation"> <span class="generated">Received</span>: 09 Jun 2026;&nbsp;&nbsp; <span class="generated">Accepted</span>: 18 Jun 2026 </span> </p>
/content/10.2807/1560-7917.ES.2026.31.24.2600508
/content/10.2807/1560-7917.ES.2026.31.24.2600508
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