Ebola strain in Congo, Uganda has no vaccine, no treatment for often deadly symptoms

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Updated on: May 18, 2026 / 1:13 PM EDT

/ CBS News

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The Ebola outbreak in the Democratic Republic of the Congo and Uganda is of particular concern to global health officials in part because the virus detected is a less common strain. As of Sunday, when the World Health Organization declared a public health emergency, there were more than 250 suspected cases and 80 suspected deaths. These numbers are expected to rise, as there are "significant uncertainties to the true number of infected persons and geographic spread," the WHO said.The virus behind this outbreak is the Bundibugyo virus, health officials have confirmed. This is only the third known outbreak of this virus, and there are no vaccines or treatments.Ebola vaccine targets Zaire strainEbola disease is caused by orthoebolaviruses, of which there are multiple species. Three of the viruses have been known to cause large Ebola disease outbreaks, according to the WHO. They are Ebola (or Zaire) virus, which has been the most common; Sudan virus; and Bundibugyo virus, the one identified in this outbreak.The only approved vaccine and treatments are for the Zaire strain. Because each virus species has different genetic material, they need different vaccines. There are some other vaccines in development, but nothing that targets Bundibugyo virus is close to being ready for use, said Dr. Céline Gounder, a CBS News medical correspondent and infectious diseases specialist who deployed in the response to a past Ebola outbreak.