Italy is deploying a team of infectious disease specialists from Rome's Spallanzani Institute to Kinshasa, Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), as early as this weekend, as Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni pushes the European Union to tighten coordinated border surveillance in response to a rapidly escalating Bundibugyo Ebola virus (BVD strain) outbreak. The mission, announced on Friday, 29 May, marks Italy's most direct intervention yet in the crisis, which has now recorded 906 suspected cases and 223 suspected deaths under investigation in DRC alone.

Italy's Mission to Kinshasa

The Spallanzani team — coordinated jointly by Italy's foreign ministry, health ministry, civil protection department, and foreign intelligence service — will provide technical assistance, deliver medical supplies and medicines, and strengthen epidemiological surveillance on the ground. The Spallanzani National Institute for Infectious Diseases in Rome is Italy's leading centre for high-risk pathogen research and has previously led Italian responses to Ebola, COVID-19, and monkeypox.

At the national level, Italy's health ministry has issued guidelines for 'targeted health surveillance and monitoring protocols for travellers returning from affected regions,' according to the official statement from Meloni's office.

Meloni Writes to EU Leadership

Meloni has written directly to EU Council President Nikos Christodoulides, European Council President Antonio Costa, and European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen, urging 'enhanced coordination of border surveillance through common rules for managing direct and indirect arrivals from the affected areas.'

Italy has proposed that the issue of border management be placed on the agenda of the European Council meeting on 18-19 June. Rome has also called for a video-conference of EU health ministers on border surveillance 'as early as next week,' and for operational priorities to be agreed at the EPSCO (Employment, Social Policy, Health and Consumer Affairs Council) meeting on 16 June.

WHO Upgrades DRC Risk to 'Very High'

The World Health Organisation (WHO) on Friday upgraded the outbreak risk in DRC from 'high' to 'very high.' In the wider Central African region, the risk is now assessed as high, though WHO continues to classify the international risk as low. Seven cases have been confirmed in neighbouring Uganda, three of which were imported from DRC, with one death recorded.

Notably, WHO declared a public health emergency of international concern (PHEIC) on the preceding Sunday, while explicitly stating the outbreak does not constitute a pandemic. There are currently no approved vaccines or therapies for the rare BVD strain of Ebola, a factor that significantly complicates containment efforts.

What Happens Next

The Spallanzani team's deployment this weekend is expected to be the first of potentially several European technical missions to the region. Whether the EU moves swiftly on Italy's proposed emergency health ministers' call will be an early test of bloc-wide coordination. With no BVD-specific treatment available and case counts still rising, the trajectory of the outbreak over the coming fortnight will be closely watched by global health authorities.