Regional health body urges vigilance in light of DRC Ebola outbreak

The Caribbean Public Health Agency (CARPHA) is urging regional countries to increase their surveillance at ports of entry following a fresh outbreak of the Ebola virus disease.

Earlier this week, the World Health Organisation (WHO) declared the current Ebola outbreak in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) as a Public Health Emergency of International Concern.

The declaration followed a meeting of the International Health Regulations Emergency Committee for Ebola in that country.

The Committee cited recent developments in the outbreak in making its recommendation, including the first confirmed case in Goma, a city of almost two million people on the border with Rwanda, and the gateway to the rest of DRC and the world.