Ebola in Democratic Republic of the Congo
15 Oct 2021
The World Health Organization report that the Ministry of Health of the Democratic Republic of the Congo have confirmed a case of Ebola virus disease in North Kivu Province. An Ebola virus disease outbreak that affected North Kivu Province was declared over on 3 May 2021. It is not immediately known if this case is related to the recent cluster of cases reported in September of this year.
Ebola virus disease (EVD) is a type of viral haemorrhagic fever (VHF). It is spread through contact with the blood, body fluids or organs of a person or animal with the infection.
Advice to travellers
The risk to travellers becoming infected or developing EVD is extremely low.
- If you are travelling to a known Ebola outbreak area, you must be aware of the risk of infection and transmission routes of Ebola virus.
- Medical personnel travelling to work in an outbreak region must follow strict infection prevention control guidance.
If you return home from an Ebola outbreak area, you should seek rapid medical attention by contacting NHS 24 (Scotland) or NHS 111 (rest of UK) for advice prior to attending UK medical facilities if you develop a high temperature (fever) and have:
- returned to the UK within 21 days from a region or area with a known outbreak of Ebola Virus Disease.
- had contact with individuals infected with a VHF.
For further information, see the fitfortravel Viral Haemorrhagic Fever page.