Uganda reported three new confirmed cases of Ebola on May 23, as the virus continues to spread across parts of East and Central Africa. The recent developments come amid warnings from health officials that the outbreak, currently affecting the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) and Uganda, poses a threat to several neighboring countries.

The World Health Organization (WHO) has declared the outbreak an international emergency. Jean Kaseya, head of the Africa Centres for Disease Control and Prevention (Africa CDC), indicated that as many as 10 countries in the region could be at risk. These include Angola, Burundi, the Central African Republic, the Republic of Congo, Ethiopia, Kenya, Rwanda, South Sudan, Tanzania, and Zambia. Kaseya cited “high mobility and insecurity” as factors facilitating the spread of the disease.

The latest cases in Uganda bring the country’s total to five since Ebola was first detected there and in the DRC on May 15. Uganda’s Ministry of Health identified the new patients as a Ugandan driver, a Ugandan health worker, and a woman from the DRC, all of whom are currently reported to be alive. Earlier, one death was recorded following the initial infections in Uganda.

Ebola is a highly contagious viral hemorrhagic fever that spreads through direct contact with bodily fluids and can cause severe bleeding and organ failure. The current outbreak centers on eastern DRC, specifically Ituri province, before spreading to South Kivu. WHO reports 82 confirmed cases and seven confirmed deaths in the DRC, alongside nearly 750 suspected cases and 177 suspected deaths.

The International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies (IFRC) announced the deaths of three Congolese Red Cross volunteers in Ituri province. The volunteers were involved in humanitarian activities related to dead body management on March 27—before the community was aware of the Ebola outbreak—and are among the first known victims of the disease in the area.

On May 21, Uganda implemented a suspension of public transport links to the DRC following confirmation of the first two Ebola cases involving Congolese nationals who had crossed the border. The Ugandan driver recently confirmed infected had been operating the vehicle transporting one of the ill Congolese patients. The Ugandan health worker contracted the virus while treating that patient. The third case involves a Congolese woman who tested positive for Ebola after returning to the DRC from Uganda.

The affected regions in eastern DRC have long been destabilized by conflict involving various armed groups. State services are limited in the rural areas of Ituri. In South Kivu, the area is controlled by the Rwandan-backed M23 rebel group, which has limited experience managing epidemic outbreaks. Congolese Health Minister Samuel Roger Kamba emphasized the need for the government to regain full control of its territory to effectively contain the virus. He described Ebola as “everyone’s problem” during a joint news conference with Kaseya in Addis Ababa.

The current outbreak is caused by the Bundibugyo strain of the Ebola virus, which is less common and for which no approved vaccines or treatments currently exist. The WHO raised the risk level of Ebola in the DRC to “very high” and assessed the broader regional risk as “high,” while maintaining that the global risk remains “low.” Over the past 50 years, Ebola has claimed more than 15,000 lives across Africa.