TORONTO — Global Affairs Canada said it is not aware of any Canadians affected by a rare type of Ebola with no cure that’s spreading fast in the Democratic Republic of Congo and neighbouring Uganda.
Thida Ith, a spokesperson for the federal agency, said there are thousands of registered Canadians in both countries, but that those numbers may not be up-to-date, and don’t reflect a desire to leave.
There are 2,300 Canadians registered as being in the Democratic Republic of Congo in Global Affair’s voluntary registration for Canadians abroad, and 1,300 are registered in Uganda.
“Consular officials are standing ready to provide assistance to those who are requesting it,” said Anita Anand, the minister of foreign affairs, during a call with reporters from Estonia on Wednesday.
The federal government has advised Canadians not to travel to the eastern Ituri and North Kivu provinces stricken by Bundibugyo virus, a species of Ebola that has no vaccines or treatments.
“We increased this travel advisory on Friday. This is a situation we are monitoring very closely,” Anand said. That includes watching to see what border measures are imposed by allies, she said.
The updated notice states that if a Canadian decides to travel to the affected area despite the advisory, they should regularly reassess the situation to determine if their “presence in the area is warranted.”
At this point, she said, Canada has not received official requests for assistance from the DRC.
WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus says there are almost 600 suspected cases and 139 suspected deaths, though he says the scale of the epidemic is much larger.
Adhanom Ghebreyesus says the risk of this outbreak is low on a global scale, but high at national and regional levels.
“We expect those numbers to keep increasing, given the amount of time the virus was circulating before the outbreak was detected,” Adhanom Ghebreyesus said, speaking of the undetected spread of the virus that went on for weeks after the first known death, as a result of testing for a more common Ebola virus.
Symptoms include fever, vomiting, diarrhea, muscle pain and internal and external bleeding in later stages of the illness.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published May 20, 2026.
Canadian Press health coverage receives support through a partnership with the Canadian Medical Association. CP is solely responsible for this content.
Hannah Alberga, The Canadian Press
