Amid Ebola outbreak, India issues advisory against travel to 3 African countries

The Ministry of Health and Family Welfare on Sunday advised Indian citizens to avoid non-essential travel to the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Uganda and South Sudan following an Ebola outbreak linked to the Bundibugyo strain in parts of Africa.

In a statement, the ministry noted that the World Health Organization (WHO), under the International Health Regulations (IHR), 2005, had declared the outbreak a Public Health Emergency of International Concern (PHEIC) on May 17, 2026, in view of the Ebola outbreaks reported in the DRC and Uganda, The New Indian Express reported.

The advisory followed the WHO’s formal declaration of the outbreak as a PHEIC under the IHR framework. The Africa Centres for Disease Control and Prevention (Africa CDC) has also classified the outbreaks in the DRC and Uganda as a Public Health Emergency of Continental Security.

According to the advisory, the WHO’s IHR Emergency Committee on May 22 recommended strengthening disease surveillance at entry points to identify and manage travellers arriving from areas where the Bundibugyo virus has been detected, particularly those showing unexplained fever symptoms. The committee also discouraged travel to affected regions.

The ministry stated that countries bordering the DRC and Uganda, including South Sudan, were considered at high risk of transmission.

Indian nationals currently living in or travelling to these countries were urged to follow local health advisories, maintain strict hygiene precautions, avoid contact with symptomatic persons and seek immediate medical care if they develop fever or related symptoms.

The advisory described Ebola as a viral haemorrhagic fever caused by the Bundibugyo strain and noted that the disease carries a high mortality rate. It further stated that no approved vaccines or specific treatments are currently available for infections caused by this strain.

According to the health ministry, 204 deaths had been reported across three provinces in the DRC out of 867 suspected cases, while the WHO’s latest figures on Friday recorded 177 deaths from 750 suspected cases.

The ministry added that India has not reported any Ebola case linked to the Bundibugyo strain so far and said the government was closely monitoring the situation in line with WHO recommendations.