An ECDC expert was in Zambia from 25 March to support in the response to the recent cholera outbreak as part of and funded by the ‘ECDC for Africa CDC’ project.
Legionnaires' disease has shown a significant surge within the European Union/European Economic Area (EU/EEA) in 2021, with over 10 700 cases reported and 704 known fatalities.
The second ‘Exchange of Experts’ programme for European Neighbourhood Policy partner countries took place on 29 – 30 May 2023 with Greece and Lebanon and focused on Legionnaires’ disease.
Every year on 22 March, World Water Day is celebrated worldwide. World Water Day is an annual United Nations observance day that highlights the importance of fresh water. The day is used to advocate for the sustainable management of freshwater resources.
Immediate health needs following earthquakes in Türkiye and Syria are mostly related to trauma and the disruption of healthcare, however, infectious disease threats may be concerning in the following two to four weeks.
As of 14 February 2021, four cases of Ebola virus disease (EVD), including two deaths, have been reported in the North Kivu province in the eastern part of the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), where a large outbreak was declared over in June 2020. Two health zones are currently affected: Biena and Katwa.
On 18 November 2020, the 11th outbreak of Ebola virus disease in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) was declared over. There have been 130 cases, including 55 deaths reported from 13 health zones in the Equateur Province since the beginning of the outbreak almost six months ago.
Two out of the four drugs tested in a multi-drug randomised control trial have been found more effective in treating Ebola, the World Health Organization announced on Monday. The Data and Safety Monitoring Board, an independent body that has been reviewing interim safety and efficacy data, has therefore recommended that the study be stopped and that all future patients be randomized to receive either REGN-EB3 or mAb114, in what is being considered an extension phase of the study.
After the Ebola virus disease outbreak was declared a Public Health Emergency of International Concern on 17 July 2019, ECDC updated its risk assessment for the EU/EEA on the on-going outbreak: the overall risk of introduction and further spread of the Ebola virus within the EU/EEA remains very low.
As of 12 June, three imported Ebola virus cases and two deaths in Kasese District in Uganda have been confirmed by the Ugandan Ministry of Health. These are the first cases to be reported outside the Democratic Republic of the Congo since the beginning of the outbreak in August 2018.