On Wednesday, the Director-General of the WHO declared the Ebola virus disease outbreak in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) a Public Health Emergency of International Concern. This declaration is a mechanism to mobilise more attention and international support for the response to the outbreak within the DRC.
The European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control has today carried out a risk assessment for European countries, including Ireland – it has deemed that the risk to Europe remains very low, and no travel or trade restrictions have been recommended.
No cases have been reported among travellers returning to Europe from the DRC in 2018 or 2019.
Since the start of this outbreak in 2018, the Department of Health, in conjunction with the HSE, has been closely monitoring the outbreak and has taken the appropriate steps to ensure that Ireland is prepared for this situation.
The HSE’s Health Protection Surveillance Centre maintains regular contact with all relevant health professionals and bodies and extensive guidance for them, hospitals, GPs and laboratories is available from the HSPC website.
