Israel Issues New Ebola Preparedness Guidelines as Outbreak in Africa Raises Concern

Israel’s Health Ministry said today (Sunday) that it has held extensive preparedness discussions regarding the Ebola virus and distributed new guidelines to medical teams. Among other steps, a discussion was held at the Supreme Hospitalization Authority, chaired by Health Ministry Director-General Moshe Bar Siman Tov, as well as a separate discussion במסגרת the epidemic response team, as part of the ongoing monitoring of the Ebola outbreak in the Democratic Republic of the Congo and the healthcare system’s readiness for possible scenarios.

At this stage, according to the Health Ministry, the risk of an Ebola outbreak in Israel, like in other Western countries, remains low, and no patients are known to be outside the affected areas in Africa, apart from patients who were transferred in a controlled manner to their home countries. The Health Ministry statement noted that "the ministry continues to monitor developments around the world on an ongoing basis and is in continuous contact with the World Health Organization and with other international health authorities."

As part of the preparedness effort, the ministry is working to formulate mechanisms for providing information to travelers returning from countries where there is active disease transmission, with the goal of increasing awareness and enabling early identification of suspected cases. In addition, professional guidelines will be distributed in the coming days to medical teams and the relevant hospitals, which are prepared to receive a suspected Ebola case should one arrive in Israel.

As part of the national preparedness effort, hospitals have been supplied with designated equipment, including protective gear and additional resources required for the safe treatment of suspected cases. As part of preparations for dealing with highly contagious diseases, the Health Ministry is advancing the establishment of designated facilities for treating cases in which there is suspicion of infection.

The Health Ministry emphasized that this is a precautionary preparedness effort being carried out as part of the healthcare system’s responsibility to prepare even for low-probability scenarios. Early preparation does not indicate a change in the risk assessment for the public, but rather the system’s commitment to ensuring the best possible readiness for any scenario.

In addition, the Health Ministry recommends avoiding non-essential travel to areas where there is known and active transmission — the Democratic Republic of the Congo and Uganda. In the event of travel to these areas, the Health Ministry recommends receiving individualized advice at a travel clinic, as detailed in the guidelines for overseas travelers on the Health Ministry website.