Case of Bundibugyo Virus Disease in Goma, Democratic Republic of the Congo with Lack of Transmission to Breastfeeding Infant
Year: 2026
Type: article
Study design: Case Report
Abstract: Disease due to Bundibugyo virus (BDBV), an Orthoebolavirus species, reemerged in April 2026, in Ituri Province, Democratic Republic of the Congo. A 35-year-old woman transported the body of a possible BDBV-infected patient from Bunia in Ituri Province to Goma for burial; she was accompanied by an 8-month-old breastfeeding child. Six days after arrival in Goma, she noted onset of fever and malaise and was empirically started on therapy for malaria; 4 days later she developed bloody diarrhea and a bloody vaginal discharge and was started on metronidazole for possible amebic dysentery. When her condition worsened she was admitted to hospital in Goma, where a blood sample was positive by real-time polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) test for BDBV, with a second positive test on hospital day 7. By day 14 of hospitalization fever and major symptoms had resolved and repeat RT-PCR tests × 2 were negative. Her child did not show evidence of infection, and no family members or health care workers at HEAL Africa Hospital developed illness.
Language: English
Subfield: Infectious Diseases
Field: Medicine
Domain: Health Sciences
Open Access status: hybrid
OpenAlex ID: W7221583894