The key facts

  • The number of Ebola cases in the DR Congo has exceeded 10,000; the outbreak has spread to Kenya, Uganda and Nigeria
  • The ECDC has sent experts to Nigeria to support the EU Delegation and assist local authorities
  • In Kenya, eight contacts of infected people have been hospitalised in Nairobi, while 20 contacts have been released from quarantine

ECDC experts in Nigeria as the outbreak spreads beyond Congo: over 10,000 cases

The Ebola outbreak, which began in May this year in the Democratic Republic of Congo, continues to spread beyond the epicentre: the number of cases there has exceeded 10,000, and the virus has reached Kenya, Uganda and Nigeria. Against this backdrop, the European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control (ECDC) has sent a team to Nigeria led by its senior expert in epidemic intelligence — Nigeria has become the fourth African country to report an Ebola case, euronews reports.

What the European specialists are doing

The ECDC experts have been tasked with providing advice and technical support to the EU Delegation in Abuja. They have also offered the Nigerian authorities assistance with disease surveillance, contact tracing, infection prevention and control, as well as outbreak preparedness and response.

This is not the first mission during the current outbreak

According to euronews, the current outbreak is the largest ever recorded in Congo, and the ECDC has already deployed specialists to African countries: in May, a team worked to support the African Centres for Disease Control and Prevention (Africa CDC); the centre also led a mission to assess exit screening procedures at airports in the DR Congo and Uganda, and in June experts were sent to South Sudan.

The situation in Kenya

Kenya reported its first-ever Ebola case on 6 October. According to the UN, by Monday eight people among the contacts of confirmed patients had shown symptoms and tested positive for the virus in laboratory tests; they were immediately transferred to a specialised Ebola treatment centre in Nairobi. Another 20 contacts were released from quarantine in Kenya, the UN said on Tuesday.

Assessing the risk for Europe

According to the latest ECDC threat assessment, the probability of infection among Europeans is very low. For those living in or travelling to the affected areas of Kenya and Nigeria, the risk is assessed as low.