First deployment of the European Medical Corps in Angola
Experts from three EU Member States (Germany, Portugal and Belgium), the European Commission and the European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control, will travel to the African country for what will be the first deployment of a public health team under the European Medical Corps (EMC) launched in February this year. The EMC makes it possible for teams and equipment from the European Union Member States to be rapidly deployed to provide medical assistance and public health expertise inside and outside of the EU.
"We have learned the lessons from the Ebola crisis. Already in February, we inaugurated the European Medical Corps to be able to react better to major health emergencies. Today, we are deploying a first team of public health experts as part of the European Medical Corps. They will complement the efforts of the Angolan government and work closely with the World Health Organisation and other international partners on the ground to deal with the yellow fever outbreak. Together we can understand it better and stop it faster," saidEuropean Commissioner for Humanitarian Aid and Crisis Management, Christos Stylianides.
The yellow fever outbreak started in Angola's capital Luanda in December 2015, but has quickly spread to other municipalities and provinces. So far over 2000 suspected cases have been reported, including 260 deaths. Imported cases have also been reported from China, Kenya, the Democratic Republic of Congo, and Mauritania.
Since the initial detection of cases, a large scale vaccination campaign has started aiming to vaccinate 6.7 million people.
The European team of medical experts will aim to develop a better understanding of the epidemiological characteristics of the outbreak, assess the risks for regional and international spread, implications for Europe and for Europeans travelling in the region, and examine ways to provide further expertise to the country in its mitigation efforts.
The mission will last about two weeks and will be implemented in close coordination with both the Angola government and the World Health Organization.
Background
Yellow fever is an acute viral haemorrhagic disease transmitted by infected mosquitoes. It is characterised by fever, muscle pain with prominent backache, headache, shivers, loss of appetite, and nausea or vomiting. An outbreak can become a more severe epidemic if the infection is carried into an area populated with unvaccinated people. Two previous outbreaks of yellow fever have been documented in Angola: one in 1971 and one in 1988.
Through the European Medical Corps (EMC), EU Member States and other European countries participating in the system can make medical teams and assets available for rapid deployment when an emergency strikes. The medical corps could include emergency medical teams, public health and medical coordination experts, mobile biosafety laboratories, medical evacuation planes and logistical support teams.
The EMC is part of the existing European Emergency Response Capacity (also known as Voluntary Pool), established under the EU Civil Protection Mechanism