Protocols were triggered for a suspected case of Ebola in Cagliari, Sardinia. A person was taken to the Santissima Trinità Hospital’s infectious diseases unit after being picked up from home, as they were displaying symptoms compatible with the virus.
Police, the fire brigade and local police arrived on the scene, while doctors and nurses wearing protective suits and masks went into the flat and took charge of the patient, who was then transported to hospital.
In the evening, the Ministry of Health issued a statement explaining that the patient is symptomatic and had recently returned from the DRC. The statement adds that tests will be carried out by Rome’s Spallanzani Institute later in the evening. “The patient is currently in isolation in a hospital facility,” the ministry added, reiterating that the Ebola risk in Italy “remains very low”.
Italy calls for tighter border controls
In recent days, Italy has sent experts from the Spallanzani Institute to the Democratic Republic of Congo. Prime Minister Meloni has also proposed putting border management on the agenda of the European Council meeting of 18–19 June 2026. In the run-up to that meeting, the government in Rome has called for coordination to start earlier, with a videoconference of health ministers next week and at the EPSCO Council on 16 June, in order to define operational priorities.
Ebola cases in the DRC and Uganda
On Sunday, the director-general of the Africa Centres for Disease Control and Prevention (Africa CDC), Jean Kaseya, told the Financial Times that as of 30 May there are 263 confirmed cases of Ebola and 43 confirmed deaths in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) and Uganda, while suspected cases exceed 1,100.
The expert stressed that the outbreak is hitting a region “under pressure” and warned that “the risk of regional spread is real”. Kaseya then said that an African response is rapidly taking shape and that international partners continue to play an essential role.
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