Despite a dramatic improvement of the epidemiological situation in Guinea in 2015, the elimination of human transmission of the Ebola virus will require sustained efforts over the next few months. ECDC will continue deploying experts to Guinea to contribute to the field work related to surveillance and response activities, under the World Health Organization's Global Outbreak Alert and Response Network (GOARN) umbrella.
Results from a recent vaccine trial, conducted by collaborating health authorities, possibly represent a major breakthrough in the control of Ebola virus disease.
On 12 May 2015, Italian authorities informed about a confirmed case of Ebola Virus Disease (EVD) in a healthcare worker who recently returned from Sierra Leone after working in an EVD treatment centre from 15 February to 6 May 2015.
A report published on 1 May indicates that the Ebola virus can persist in seminal fluid of a person who recovered from Ebola virus disease for longer than previously known and can potentially lead to sexual transmission of Ebola virus.
On March 3 2015, the European Union organised a high-level conference on the Ebola epidemic. The purpose was two-fold: first, to take stock of the ongoing emergency response and adapt it to the evolving situation on the ground, leading to eradication of the disease; second, to plan for the long term and support the recovery and resilience of the affected countries, including the development of their health systems.
ECDC releases today an update of its tick-borne diseases communication toolkit to support public health authorities in devising communication initiatives as part of their tick-borne diseases prevention programmes.
As reinforcement to help fight Ebola in the affected West African countries, the European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control is deploying four teams of French-speaking epidemiologists to support surveillance and response in Guinea.
Since December 2013 and as of 17 December 2014, WHO has reported 18 603 confirmed, probable and suspected cases of Ebola virus disease (EVD) in five affected countries (Guinea, Liberia, Mali, Sierra Leone and the United States of America) and three previously affected countries (Nigeria, Senegal and Spain).
Today, ECDC published a tutorial covering the fundamental concepts of personal protective equipment (PPE) and barrier nursing to support preparedness in hospitals across Europe.