ECDC rapid risk assessment: Ebola virus disease outbreak in North Kivu and Ituri Provinces, DRC

The European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control (ECDC) has published a rapid risk assessment examining the on-going Ebola virus outbreak in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) (see current note 52/3101).

As of 5 August 2018, the DRC ministry of health has reported 43 cases in the provinces of North Kivu and Ituri. The ministry of health is currently implementing the Ebola Virus Disease (EVD) response plan in the affected areas, supported by the World Health Organisation (WHO) and several partner organisations. Contact tracing of case contacts has been initiated, and the rVSV-ZEBOV experimental vaccine will be offered to healthcare workers and case contacts.

The actual extent of the epidemic is still unknown: the fact that it has potentially been on-going for almost three months in a densely populated area, with high cross-border population mobility with Rwanda and Uganda, is of concern. Implementation of response measures may be challenging because the outbreak occurs in areas affected by prolonged humanitarian crises and an unstable security situation arising from a complex armed conflict.

The probability that EU/EEA citizens who live or travel in EVD-affected areas of DRC are exposed to the disease is low, provided they adhere to the precautionary measures recommended in the rapid risk assessment.

Source: ECDC, 10 August 2018