Ebola outbreaks

Ebola virus disease (EVD), formerly known as Ebola haemorrhagic fever, is a rare but severe, often fatal illness in humans. The virus is transmitted to people from wild animals and spreads in the human population through human-to-human transmission.

There have been a series of significant Ebola virus disease outbreaks recently, most notably in West Africa from 2014–2015 and in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) starting in 2018.

African affected countries have been grappling with the world’s largest Ebola epidemic on record. The 2018-2019 outbreak in eastern DRC has been highly complex, with insecurity adversely affecting public health response activities. The World Health Organization has deployed hundreds of staff on the ground supporting the Government-led response together with national and international partners.

The risk of a widespread outbreak in Europe remains very low. European countries are among the best prepared in the world to manage viral haemorrhagic fevers, including Ebola. However, the best way to avoid any risk of Ebola spread is by controlling the outbreak at the source.

The European Region, like the rest of the world, has a clear interest in preventing Ebola infections in affected areas beyond the Region, and has been supporting countries hit by the outbreaks, including DRC, by deploying its experts; for instance, under the Global Outbreak Alert and Response Network (GOARN) and Emergency Medical Teams (EMTs) mechanisms.