Research and analysis

Outbreaks under monitoring: week 41 (week ending 12 October 2025)

Updated 16 October 2025

Disease or pathogen	Ebola virus disease
Location	Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC)
Status	Situation update
Reporting date	4 September to 7 October 2025
Summary	On 4 September 2025, the DRC’s Ministry of Health (MoH) declared an outbreak [in French] of Ebola virus disease (EVD) in Bulape health zone, Kasai Province. As of 5 October 2025, 64 EVD cases (53 confirmed and 11 probable cases) including 43 deaths (32 confirmed and 11 probable deaths) have been reported in Bulape health zone. This is an increase of one confirmed death since the last report. The recent death was a 3 week-old newborn among the hospitalised cases. No new confirmed EVD cases have been reported in Bulape health zone since 22 September 2025. The World Health Organization (WHO) assesses the public health risk of this outbreak as high at the national level, moderate at the regional level and low at the global level. Imported cases of Ebola disease are very rare in the UK. Four confirmed cases, and no deaths, have previously been reported in the UK. The last reported confirmed case was in 2014.
Further information	Ebola: overview, history, origins and transmission Ebola virus disease: clinical management and guidance Ebola and Marburg haemorrhagic fevers: outbreaks and case locations NaTHNaC country information page: Democratic Republic of the Congo.

Disease or pathogen	Rift Valley fever
Location	Mauritania and Senegal
Status	New incident
Reporting date	26 September to 12 October 2025
Summary	On 26 September 2025, Senegal’s Ministry of Health and Public Hygiene reported an outbreak [in French] of Rift Valley fever (RVF) in the Saint-Louis region. As of 11 October 2025, 147 RVF cases [in French], including 19 deaths, have been reported. Most cases have been reported in Saint-Louis region (137 cases). The last reported human RVF outbreak in Senegal was in Saint-Louis region in 2020 and resulted in 9 cases. On 27 September 2025, Mauritania’s MoH [in Arabic] reported a fatal RVF case in Rosso City. The MoH states that the case had returned from an unspecified neighbouring country. Ten contacts of the fatal case were initially identified. Between 1 January and 8 October 2025, 8 RVF cases including 6 deaths have been reported across 3 regions of Mauritania. Genomic analysis suggests that the current RVF outbreak in Senegal is directly linked to the previous outbreaks in Senegal (Fatick in 2020 and Matam in 2022) and Mauritania (2020). No known human RVF cases have been reported in the UK.
Further information	Viral haemorrhagic fevers: origins, reservoirs, transmission and guidelines NaTHNaC country information page: Senegal

Disease or pathogen	Severe fever with thrombocytopaenia syndrome
Location	Thailand
Status	New incident
Reporting date	9 October 2025
Summary	On 9 October 2025, the WHO reported 2 confirmed cases of Severe fever with thrombocytopaenia syndrome (SFTS) in Wang Pong district, Phetchabun province, Thailand.  These cases are being retrospectively reported from June 2025. Both cases reside in the same vicinity and had close contact with pet dogs. A high number of dog ticks were found around the residence of one of the cases and from the pet dogs of both cases; 16 dog tick samples tested positive for SFTS virus. The clinical condition and outcome of these cases were not reported. The last reported SFTS case in Thailand was in 2020. No known SFTS cases have been reported in the UK.
Further information	Severe fever with thrombocytopaenia syndrome (SFTS): epidemiology, outbreaks and guidance NaTHNaC country information page: Thailand

For more information on the background and methods used in this report, see Outbreaks under monitoring: background and methodology.