This Ebola outbreak is very worrying. That doesn't mean it's dangerous for Canadians
The deadly Ebola outbreak in the Democratic Republic of Congo is unlikely to end soon, but Canadians have no reason to panic, say people who have worked in the region.
The UN says it has recorded the deaths of 148 suspects and nearly 600 suspects, and two cases including the death of one person in neighboring Uganda. But the head of the World Health Organization (WHO) said the outbreak is likely to be much larger than the current figure.
The WHO says that although the risk of global spread is low, the regional risk is high, with Ituri State at the center of the outbreak of violence on the border of Uganda and South Sudan.
The Ebola outbreak is not particularly unusual – this is the 17th outbreak in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) since 1976, according to the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. The latest outbreak ended in December 2025.
But there are several factors that make this particularly concerning, says Kerry Bowman, a biologist at the University of Toronto who has worked in the DRC.
As the deadly Ebola epidemic spreads across the Democratic Republic of Congo and Uganda, testing and contracting efforts have reached North America. Andrew Chang explains how the virus spreads, why it goes undetected for so long and the associated barriers to containing and treating this rare Bundibugyo strain. (Image credits: The Canadian Press, Reuters, Adobe Stock and Getty Images)
When the illness began to spread, people with Ebola-like symptoms were tested for the most common strain, Zaire, and the tests came back negative. It was later discovered that it was a rare strain of Bundibugyo that was spreading.
“A lot of time is lost,” Bowman said.
'This one is really different'
The WHO said the rate of the outbreak suggests that it could go undetected for weeks as it continues to spread. Officials say they have yet to find “patient zero.”
A vaccine was developed for the Zaire strain in 2014, but the Bundibugyo strain has no vaccine or treatment, limiting options to stop the spread.
Military conflict in the region also makes the disease difficult to contain.
There are more than 920,000 internally displaced people in Ituri Province alone, according to the UN. Many live in camps for homeless people, which Bowman says is “just a nightmare in terms of infection.” Parts of the DRC are currently under rebel control, and Bowman says Ebola cases have been found in rebel-held areas.
“This one is really different,” he said. “Most predictions are that this is just the tip of the iceberg, and it's going to be a very bad journey.”
He suspects the outbreak will continue into the summer, but says a clearer picture will emerge next week as more health professionals come in to help with the response.
The World Health Organization has confirmed that the recent outbreak of Ebola, a rare strain of the virus in Bundibugyo, Congo and Uganda is a public health emergency of international concern but not a pandemic emergency. Dr. Paul Ngwakum, UNICEF's senior health adviser in Africa, says that in the absence of a vaccine, it is 'very important' to have other public health measures such as early detection, rapid response and infection control.
In previous outbreaks, the WHO said the strain had a fatality rate of between 30 and 50 percent.
Experts say the region's already weak health infrastructure and surveillance capacity have been severely reduced by cuts in international aid, while health workers and aid organizations say they are in dire need of resources and staff.
Halifax-based Chiran Livera, who has been part of the relief effort in the DRC's five Ebola outbreaks and currently works with the Canadian Red Cross, told a Canadian newspaper that many factors have caused the “perfect storm” of the outbreak.
Canadians need not fear: the doctor
Ebola is highly contagious and spreads through contact with body fluids, especially vomit, blood, feces or semen, which is the main reason why experts don't believe it has the same potential for global spread as airborne diseases like COVID-19.
“Almost nobody is suggesting that this is going to be a global pandemic the way that COVID was,” Bowman said. “But, having said that, we need to take every precaution.”
Kent Brantly, an Indiana doctor who contracted Ebola in 2014 while treating patients in Liberia, says his heart “felt incredibly heavy” when he heard about the current outbreak.
He says he sees many similarities to the 2014 outbreak in West Africa – which led to a record 11,325 deaths across Guinea, Liberia and Sierra Leone, according to the WHO – because it took place in a border region “with a highly mobile population,” in an area that “has suffered greatly from conflict and unrest.”
Brantly hopes to see countries around the world come together to help the African CDC and affected countries, and suggests giving to organizations like Doctors Without Borders and the group he works for, the Christian aid organization Samaritan's Purse.
Brantly told CBC News there could be “a lot of excitement and fear” at the start of the violence, and called for a “calm, measured, compassionate” response.
“I think the average Canadian, the average American, has nothing to fear from this outbreak,” Brantly said.
“What we should be concerned about is the welfare of our neighbors in East Africa and the ways in which people can help.”
The US bans foreign visitors
The US government has imposed restrictions on any travelers who have visited Congo, Uganda or South Sudan in the past 21 days, barring foreign tourists from entering the US and requiring US citizens and permanent residents to be transferred to Washington Dulles International Airport for screening.
Canada's Public Health Agency said it does not enforce the travel ban or actively screen travelers, although Ontario's health ministry said a citizen who recently traveled to East Africa was being tested for Ebola “out of an abundance of caution.”
The federal government issued a level two travel advisory for the DRC on Thursday, indicating an increased risk for some travelers and reminding them to use enhanced safety measures.
