Ebola outbreak in DRC and Uganda - ECDC scales up support on the ground

'ECDC is strengthening its actions on the ground to support an effective response to this Ebola outbreak,' said ECDC Director Pamela Rendi-Wagner. 'The additional knowledge we gain will also allow ECDC to promptly update its risk assessment and recommendations for Europe, strengthening health security when and where it is needed.'

Experts from ECDC and EU Member States are monitoring the implementation of passenger screening procedures at the main airports of the affected countries within the framework of an EU health taskforce team. After beginning in DRC, the team of experts will continue their assessment activities in Uganda.

A second EU health taskforce team that includes an ECDC expert is due to arrive in South Sudan this week to strengthen national preparedness efforts against the Ebola outbreak, with an emphasis on strengthening risk communication and community engagement. 

ECDC has been providing direct support since the outbreak began. Experts were deployed to the Africa Centres for Disease Control and Prevention (Africa CDC) in Ethiopia to support outbreak response efforts, with a focus on surveillance, preparedness and data analytics. So far, three experts have been deployed on a rotational basis, with a fourth on the way. Additional experts are due to join them in the coming weeks in coordination with Africa CDC.   

The Centre is working closely with national authorities and EU delegations in the affected countries, as well as with EU countries, to ensure a coordinated response. ECDC also continues to update its information and guidance when relevant, and as the Centre points out in a new assessment, the probability of Ebola disease caused by Bundibugyo virus being imported into the European Union and European Economic Area currently remains very low.