India has issued an advisory for families and travellers linked to Ebola-affected African nations.
The alert came after a major Bundibugyo strain outbreak in Uganda and DR Congo, prompting a WHO global emergency.
Though India has no cases, authorities highlight Ebola’s high fatality.
The Indian government issued an advisory May 21, 2026 for families staying and travellers visiting / returning after visiting certain African countries affected with Ebola Virus Disease (EVD).
The notification comes in the backdrop of a major outbreak of the rare Bundibugyo strain of Ebola, which infected over 650 people and killed nearly 144 in Uganda and the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), prompting WHO to declare a global health emergency.
In India, no case has been reported so far, but the authorities had taken note of the zoonotic disease in 2019, ranking it as one of the top 10 viral threats. India also classified it as a known future threat of emerging viral infections in the country.
Meanwhile, the India-Africa Forum Summit that was to begin in Delhi from May 28 has been postponed considering the evolving health situation.
In DRC, a pre-World Cup training camp for footballers has been called off.
A bat-borne viral disease that often turns fatal, Ebola spreads by contact with body fluids of an infected person or animal or contaminated objects. On rare instances, the virus was observed to be airborne.
According to the World Health Organization (WHO), the average Ebola disease case fatality rate is around 50 per cent, while case fatality rates have varied from 25–90 per cent in past outbreaks.
The Indian Journal of Medical Research (IJMR) in 2019 published an article — Emerging / re-emerging viral diseases & new viruses on the Indian horizon. It categorised under the Biosafety-risk group 4, indicating it requires the highest level of containment for laboratory work. The text noted Ebola alongside other high-priority pathogens like MERS-CoV and avian influenza as threats that require surveillance and preparedness in the Indian context.
In October 2025, the Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) listed it among the 'Priority Pathogens To Be Tested For In Indian Clinical Settings'.
In its document, it noted, “Pathogen testing in clinical microbiology laboratories differs as per institutional requirements and available laboratory resources, often missing out on common/critical pathogens, thereby hampering patient care and aggravating public health problems such as antimicrobial resistance.”
ICMR also listed important pathogens causing critical infectious syndromes in India, in an effort to guide patient management, public health policies, and biomedical R&D.
Ebola and Hantavirus were listed among Priority 3, which indicates 'Rare pathogens, which may not be detected in routine clinical settings and may be detected during specialised laboratory testing as a part of surveillance'.
According to WHO, Ebola disease is caused by viruses that belong to the Orthoebolavirus genus of the filoviridae family. Six species of Orthoebolaviruses have been identified to date, with three known to cause large outbreaks:• Ebola virus causing Ebola virus disease • Sudan virus causing Sudan virus disease• Bundibugyo virus causing Bundibugyo virus disease
In May 2026, a rare multi-country outbreak of the Andes hantavirus occurred aboard the expedition cruise ship MV Hondius, according to WHO. This cluster resulted in 11 confirmed and probable cases (including three deaths) across 23 nationalities, with passengers transported to various international facilities for specialised care.
Ebola disease is characterised by symptoms such as fever, weakness, muscle pain, headache and sore throat, followed by vomiting, diarrhoea, rash and in some cases bleeding. Persons who come in direct contact of body fluids of infected person or infected animal are at risk, the advisory noted.
“Ebola disease first occurred in 1976 in two simultaneous outbreaks: one outbreak was of Sudan virus disease in Nzara in what is now South Sudan, and the other outbreak was of Ebola virus disease in Yambuku, in what is now the Democratic Republic of the Congo. The latter occurred in a village near the Ebola River, from which the disease takes its name,” according to WHO.