On 14 August, the Ministry of Health of Cote d’Ivoire confirmed the country’s first case of Ebola since 1994. The Institut Pasteur in Cote d’Ivoire confirmed the Ebola Virus Disease in samples collected from a patient, who was hospitalised in Abidjan, after arriving from Guinea.

In addition to the confirmed case, one suspected case and nine contacts have been identified and are being monitored. No deaths have been reported yet.

Guinea, which borders Cote d’Ivoire, experienced a four-month long Ebola outbreak earlier this year, which was declared over on the 19 June 2021. There is no indication that the current case in Cote d’Ivoire is linked to the earlier outbreak in Guinea. Further investigation will determine if there is a connection between the two outbreaks.

Two days later, on 16 August, Cote d’Ivoire has launched the Ebola vaccination (with Merck’s rVSV-ZEBOV vaccine) of high-risk populations in Abijan, including health workers and first responders. Additionally, Guinea sent around 3000 vaccine doses (manufactured by Johnson & Johnson) to boost the vaccination in areas not experiencing active transmission.

The outbreak in Cote d’Ivoire is the third this year after the Democratic Republic of the Congo and Guinea.