The following is the statement by Commissioner Christos Stylianides (computer translated) on the Ebola epidemic in the north-eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo.

This digitally-colorized scanning electron micrograph (SEM) depicts a number of filamentous Ebola virus particles (red) that had budded from the surface of a VERO cell (blue-gray) of the African green monkey kidney epithelial cell line./NIAID
This digitally-colorized scanning electron micrograph (SEM) depicts a number of filamentous Ebola virus particles (red) that had budded from the surface of a VERO cell (blue-gray) of the African green monkey kidney epithelial cell line./NIAID

The European Union is determined to provide all necessary support to respond to the recently declared Ebola epidemic in the north-eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC).

The authorities of the DRC, supported by the World Health Organization (WHO), European Commission experts present in the country and international NGOs working in the medical field have implemented the first measures to deal with the situation.

The European Commission’s Emergency Response Coordination Center (ERCC) is currently preparing the necessary preparations for a possible EU intervention if it is necessary to call on the European Medical Corps And its logistical capabilities. We are in close contact with the Member States on this issue.

In the early days of the epidemic, our priority must be to maintain close and effective coordination with national authorities, WHO, EU Member States, international partners and NGOs on the ground.

The EU was among the first to provide aid during the Ebola epidemic in West Africa from 2013 to 2016. This new epidemic came to remind us brutally that we can not lower our guard.

The best tools for preventing the spread of the epidemic are alertness, early warning, coordination and preparedness.

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