Cases have been reported in regions to the north and east of the Democratic Republic of Congo, whose closest border is Uganda, thousands of kilometers from Angola, a country that has a high level of passenger mobility to Portugal.
Portugal reinforced early detection measures for potentially imported Ebola cases, following the outbreak in the Democratic Republic of Congo, with the Directorate-General for Health considering the risk of infection in Europe very low.
On Sunday, the World Health Organization (WHO) declared the outbreak an international public health emergency (PHEIC), after more than 300 suspected cases and 118 deaths were recorded in the provinces of Ituri and North Kivu, in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), in addition to two other deaths in neighboring Uganda.
“In view of PHEIC declarations by the WHO, Portugal, like most countries not directly affected, reinforces the early detection of potentially imported cases”, said the Directorate-General for Health (DGS) in response to the Lusa agency.
According to the health authority, existing preparedness and response measures for potential imported cases are updated, based on DGS guidelines for Ebola and in alignment with the recommendations of the European Center for Disease Control (ECDC), regarding travelers and those returning from affected countries.
Furthermore, laboratory capacity to detect cases of possible infections is reinforced, the DGS also said.
He also added that the cases were reported in regions to the north and east of the DRC – in Rwampara, Mongbwalu and Bunia -, whose closest border is that of Uganda, thousands of kilometers from Angola, a country that records great passenger mobility to Portugal.
“For people living in the EU/EEA [União Europeia e Espaço Económico Europeu]the probability of infection is considered very low, given the very low probability of importation and secondary transmission in Europe”, highlighted the DGS.
The DGS maintains guidance on Ebola in force from 2019, when an outbreak of the disease was also recorded in the Democratic Republic of Congo.
After the WHO declared the Ebola outbreak an international public health emergency, several African countries reinforced health controls and closed their borders, as is the case with Rwanda.
The Democratic Republic of Congo announced it will open three treatment centers for the Ebola virus in the eastern province of Ituri, following the outbreak with a variant for which there are no approved therapies or vaccines, while the WHO has sent experts and supplies to help combat the spread of the disease.
The Ebola virus is transmitted through direct contact with bodily fluids from infected people or animals and causes severe hemorrhagic fever, fever, vomiting, diarrhea and internal bleeding.
According to the WHO, the virus has a mortality rate between 25% and 90%.
