Ebola Bundibugyo Virus Disease and Related Guidance

Dear Members of the Georgetown University Community,

Georgetown’s Office of Public Health in the Office of Public Safety, in collaboration with the Center for Global Health Science & Security, is closely monitoring the outbreak of Ebola Bundibugyo virus disease (BVD) in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) and Uganda. The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and Africa CDC also note the proximity of South Sudan to these countries. On May 16, the World Health Organization (WHO) declared a Public Health Emergency of International Concern (PHEIC). This is a difficult disease to fight, and our hearts and prayers are with those in the impacted countries.

While the risk to our campuses is low at this time, we are actively taking preparedness actions now to protect our community.

BVD is spread by contact with blood or body fluids of a person who is infected with or has died from BVD, contact with contaminated objects such as clothing, bedding, needles and medical equipment or by contact with animals that are infected with BVD. Symptoms include fever, headache, muscle pain, weakness, diarrhea, vomiting, stomach pain and unexplained bleeding or bruising. There are no approved vaccines or treatments to prevent or treat BVD.

Travel Restrictions

On May 18, 2026, the CDC, Department of Homeland Security and other federal agencies implemented enhanced travel screening, entry restrictions and public health measures to prevent Ebola disease from entering the United States.

Georgetown has suspended university-related travel for all of its students, faculty and staff to the DRC and Uganda at this time. Georgetown previously suspended travel to South Sudan. This guidance is consistent with the CDC travel warning to avoid non-essential travel to the DRC. While Uganda’s travel warning does not yet recommend postponing non-essential travel, university-related travel is suspended due to its border proximity and the spread of cases in the area. This means that university funds cannot be used to support trips to these areas, nor will the university facilitate or otherwise endorse travel to these areas until further notice. If there are extenuating circumstances that impact research or other critical university business, you may contact your Executive Vice President or the Office of International Safety & Security for further consultation.

This guidance will remain in effect as long as the CDC maintains the current warnings. If the CDC issues similar travel warnings for new locations, the university may suspend university-related travel to those areas as well.

For personal travel, we recommend that Georgetown University community members postpone travel to the DRC, Uganda and South Sudan at this time.

Any community members who are in the affected countries, have been in them in the last 21 days, plan to travel to them or plan to return to a Georgetown campus from them should reach out to publichealth@georgetown.edu for consultation.

Hosting Visitors from Impacted Areas

Any community member planning to host a visitor at a Georgetown campus who has traveled to or from an impacted country within 21 days must first contact publichealth@georgetown.edu for consultation.

For more information on BVD, please visit U.S. CDC, Africa CDC and WHO.

Sincerely,

Norman J. Beauchamp Jr.
Executive Vice President for Health Sciences

Soyica Diggs Colbert
Interim Provost

David Green
Executive Vice President and Chief Operating Officer

Joshua C. Teitelbaum
Interim Dean and Executive Vice President, Law Center