Epidemiological surveillance of Ebola virus disease

Santé publique France monitors Ebola virus disease as part of the system for notifiable diseases.

Outside of periods of large-scale outbreaks of the disease in intertropical Africa, where the virus is endemic, the risk of imported Ebola cases in France is very low. However, given the virus’s incubation period (between 2 and 21 days), it is possible that an infected person may not develop symptoms until after returning to France. Hospital resources and staff training enable the care of patients requiring isolation and daily contact precautions.
In the absence of a major outbreak in areas where the virus circulates, the diagnosis of Ebola virus infection should be considered whenever necessary:

• in any clinically suggestive case;

• upon return from intertropical Africa or if the individual has been in contact, within 21 days prior to the onset of symptoms, with another confirmed case or with the bodily fluids of a confirmed case.

Any suspected Ebola virus infection is subject to mandatory reporting of African hemorrhagic fevers, which must be reported immediately to the Regional Health Agency after:

• clinical and epidemiological validation by an infectious disease specialist;

• and evaluation by the National Reference Center for Viral Hemorrhagic Fevers to determine the virological tests to be performed.

Surveillance partners:

CNR - Coordinating Laboratory

Institut Pasteur:
Head: Dr. Sylvain BAIZE
Tel.: 04 37 28 24 43
Email: sylvain.baize@pasteur.fr Deputy
Head: Dr. Delphine PANNETIER
Tel.: 04 72 76 82 91
Address:
Institut Pasteur
Unit of Emerging Viral Infections Biology (UBIVE)
21, avenue Tony Garnier - 69365 Lyon Cedex 07
Secretariat: 04 37 28 24 40 - Fax: 04 37 28 24 41 - Email: cnr-fhv@pasteur.fr

CNR - Associated Laboratory

Inserm
Director: Dr. Hervé RAOUL
Tel.: 04 72 76 82 91
Email: herve.raoul@inserm.fr
Address:
Inserm US003
Laboratory P4 Inserm Jean Mérieux
21, Avenue Tony Garnier - 69365 Lyon Cedex 07
Office: 04 72 76 82 95 - Fax: 04 72 71 04 48

CNR Website on Viral Hemorrhagic Fevers

Santé publique France’s Response to the Ebola Outbreak in West Africa

During the 2015 outbreak in West Africa, France mobilized to provide, alongside its partners, an appropriate response to the situation. In addition to implementing enhanced surveillance and measures to limit the transmission of the virus should a case be confirmed on French territory, Santé publique France also contributed to the French response to the Ebola epidemic by publishing regular epidemiological updates, sending epidemiologists to the affected countries, and helping to train local teams and strengthen public health networks.

Support for the training of local teams (PREPARE project)

The Project to Support the Establishment of Eight Regional Multipurpose Epidemic Alert and Response Teams (PREPARE), now completed, was co-financed by the European Union and France and aimed to train teams of 24 people per region in Guinea to form “anti-epidemic task forces.” As part of the broader effort to combat epidemics in general, and the Ebola virus epidemic in particular, PREPARE consisted of two components:

• strengthening the skills of team members;

• supporting the deployment and operation of the teams.

The project unfolded in two phases:
An initial phase of training and deployment of local teams, from March to July 2015. In this context, Santé publique France contributed to the epidemiological training of multidisciplinary teams (doctors, biologists, community health workers, etc.). This two-day epidemiology training course covered, through theoretical lectures and case studies, epidemiological surveillance, early detection and warning systems, investigation—particularly active case finding—and contact tracing in the context of Ebola virus disease.
A second phase, from August 2015 to June 2016, focused on strengthening training and supporting the operations of these teams through the implementation of a remote mentorship system, with senior epidemiologists from Santé publique France serving as mentors for Guinean regional epidemiologists.

Strengthening Networks (RIPOST Project – Network of National Public Health Institutes in West Africa)

The RIPOST project, a French initiative led by Expertise France and developed within the framework of the Ebola Task Force, aims to strengthen the capacities of French-speaking West African countries in the areas of epidemiological surveillance, health monitoring and early warning, operational research, and training.
To this end, it seeks to facilitate networking among organizations with expertise in public health to enable better information sharing and, ultimately, to assist health authorities in decision-making.
Santé publique France is a member of the project’s Steering Committee, alongside the French Development Agency (AFD), the Center for Epidemiology and Public Health of the Armed Forces (CESPA), and the Pasteur Institutes Network, among others. It participates in exploratory field missions.

The RIPOST project’s activities are carried out in collaboration with the World Health Organization’s Regional Office for Africa (WHO AFRO), the West African Health Organization (WAHO), and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC, Atlanta).