What do we know about the rare Ebola virus strain that has prompted WHO to declare a public health emergency?

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A rare strain of Ebola has prompted the World Health Organisation (WHO) to declare a public health emergency of international concern. Most of the cases have occurred in the Democratic Republic of Congo, with more than 100 suspected deaths and nearly 400 suspected infections as of Monday.

Here is what we know about ​this strain of the Ebola virus, known as Bundibugyo.

The current Ebola outbreak — so far limited to the Democratic Republic of ‌the Congo and Uganda — is due to a rare strain of the virus known as Bundibugyo, named after Uganda’s Bundibugyo province where it was first identified during an outbreak in 2007-2008. A second Bundibugyo outbreak occurred in 2012 in the DRC.

Bundibugyo kills 30 per cent to 40pc of infected people, making it less lethal than the more common Zaire strain, which causes death in up to 90pc, according ​to a global study published in 2024.