Ebola virus disease in Democratic Republic of the Congo (North Kivu)

22 Aug 2022

On 22 August 2022, public health authorities in Democratic Republic of the Congo reported a case of Ebola virus disease (EVD) in Beni, North Kivu Province. The patient was admitted to hospital on 23 July 2022 and died on 15 August 2022. Ebola was not confirmed until after the patient had died.

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.