How many Ebola outbreaks have there been?

As of May 2022, there have been 35 Ebola virus disease outbreaks in Africa, according to the World Health Organization (WHO). The first known Ebola outbreak occurred in 1976 in what is now the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), near the Ebola River, which gives the virus its name. Since then, outbreaks have been reported in several African countries, including the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Gabon, Guinea, Liberia, Sierra Leone, Uganda, and the most recent in 2023 in the Republic of Congo. The WHO declares an Ebola outbreak when one or more cases of Ebola virus disease are reported in a country.