In May 2026, two travellers who had fallen ill in the Democratic Republic of the Congo crossed into Uganda seeking advanced medical care — and in doing so, carried Ebola disease caused by Bundibugyo virus into Kampala. It marked Uganda’s second recognised outbreak of this virus since 2007, and prompted both the World Health Organization and the Africa CDC to declare public health emergencies.

Researchers from the Interdisciplinary Consortium for Epidemics Research, together with Uganda’s Ministry of Health, Makerere University, and other partners, examine the episode in a correspondence published in The Lancet Infectious Diseases. Rather than a single point of spillover, the outbreak traces a more unsettling pattern: how regional movement for trade, mining, humanitarian crises, and specialised medical care can quietly become a pathway for cross-border transmission — and why referral facilities across East Africa and beyond should remain on alert.

The full letter is available to read below.