Ebola precautionary quarantine for doctor returning from Congo

Rome — A doctor working with medici senza frontiere (MSF) in the Democratic Republic of Congo has been placed under precautionary quarantine at Rome’s Spallanzani Institute after direct contact with patients who later tested positive for Ebola, the Italian Health Ministry confirmed.

The female surgeon, who had been working at the Salamat health centre in Bunia, Ituri province, is being transferred to Rome under strict medical protocols and will undergo active surveillance at the specialised infectious diseases hospital.

Health authorities stressed that the measure is purely precautionary and that the doctor is not displaying any symptoms of Ebola.

According to the ministry, the doctor came into contact with infected patients on May 16 while treating individuals during the current Ebola outbreak in eastern Congo. Officials described the exposure as a “direct contact” case.

The surgeon also carried out an emergency life saving operation on May 18 on a child injured in a grenade explosion. The child has been classified as a suspected Ebola case, although test results remain unavailable.

The Health Ministry authorised the doctor’s return to Italy and informed regional authorities as preparations for her monitored arrival in Rome were completed.

MSF confirmed that the staff member remains symptom free and is under medical observation.

“On a precautionary basis, the staff member will be medically evacuated to her country of origin, Italy,” the humanitarian organisation said in a statement, adding that it would not release further details in line with medical confidentiality and continued to follow strict safety procedures to protect both staff and patients.

Italian authorities sought to calm public concern, emphasising that there are currently no cases of Ebola in Italy.

“The level of alert in our country is very low,” the Health Ministry said, adding that monitoring and preparedness measures have been in place since the first reports of the outbreak and are continuing in coordination with national and local health authorities.

The European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control (ECDC) has meanwhile described the ongoing Ebola outbreak in the Democratic Republic of Congo and neighbouring Uganda as a matter of “serious concern”, noting that the situation differs significantly from previous outbreaks.

However, the agency maintained that the risk of infection for the general population in Europe remains “very low”.

The ECDC noted that the epidemic is linked to the Bundibugyo strain of the Ebola virus, for which no authorised vaccine or specific treatment currently exists, complicating containment efforts in a region already facing security and humanitarian challenges.

As of May 24, more than 900 suspected Ebola cases had been reported in the Democratic Republic of Congo, while Uganda had confirmed seven cases.

Ebola virus disease, formerly known as Ebola haemorrhagic fever, is a rare but severe illness first identified in 1976 in what is now the Democratic Republic of Congo. The virus spreads primarily through direct contact with infected blood or bodily fluids and has recorded fatality rates ranging between 25 and 90 per cent in previous outbreaks.

PS