This special report assesses the spread of the Ebola Bundibugyo virus disease (BVD) outbreak beyond the Democratic Republic of the Congo through Uganda's transit corridor, and its implications for organisations operating in Kenya, Somalia, South Sudan, Ethiopia and the wider East Africa region. Key findings include:
- The DRC outbreak is now the second-largest Ebola outbreak on record, with 9,552 confirmed cases and 4,602 deaths as of Oct 19, and there is no approved vaccine or treatment for BVD.
- Two confirmed exports in October passed through Entebbe undetected, seeding a nine-case cluster in Nairobi and an imported case in Abuja.
- A Somali contact of the Kenyan index case flew home via Addis Ababa and was quarantined in Mogadishu, linking the corridor directly to Somalia and Ethiopia.
- South Sudan borders the affected DRC provinces and Uganda, and is already subject to U.S. entry restrictions.
- Further exported cases from the corridor over the next 90 days are likely; Kenya's cluster will likely remain within its existing contact lists.
- For most organisations, the principal impact will be travel restrictions, screening delays and duty-of-care decisions rather than community transmission.