Ebola Update

The severity of the Ebola virus disease (EVD) outbreak in West Africa remains unabated this week, with the World Health Organization (WHO) declaring it a Public Health Emergency of International Concern on 8 August 2014. The WHO has made recommendations primarily aimed at assisting the affected countries to control the outbreak and has also provided guidance for bordering and nearby countries to help manage further spread. This announcement does not change the risk to Australia, which remains very low.

The latest EVD information for GPs is available on the Department of Health website. It states that as of 6 August 2014, there were 1,779 clinically-compatible cases, of which 1,134 have been laboratory confirmed, and 961 have died (case fatality rate 54%).