An outbreak of Ebola Virus Disease (EVD) in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) was declared on August 1, 2018. The outbreak has been ongoing since then, with 2,578 confirmed and probable EVD cases and 1,737 deaths reported as of July 20, 2019. Large (>1 million population) cities have also been affected, including Goma, which is on the border with Rwanda. Cases have also occurred in Uganda, but no local transmission has occurred there. Vaccination and other disease control efforts in the affected areas continue, but have been hampered by armed conflict. For the latest updates on this outbreak, see
https://www.who.int/ebola/situation-reports/drc-2018/en/
.
On July 15
th
, the World Health Organization declared a Public Health Emergency of International Concern (PHEIC) for EVD in the DRC. At this time, CDC/CDPH are not notifiying Orange County Public Health about returning travelers from the affected area but notifications may be received about returning response workers from non-governmental agencies with whom CDC has implemented processes.
The risk of importation of Ebola virus into California remains very low but is not zero. However, many infectious diseases, such as hepatitis A, zika, and typhoid, are regularly introduced into Orange County by returning international travelers. Therefore, a best practice continues to be for healthcare providers in hospitals, emergency departments and clinics to routinely ask patients with acute and possibly infectious illness about recent international travel.
