Health authorities in Sardinia have activated emergency infectious disease protocols following a suspected case of Ebola involving a man who recently returned from the Democratic Republic of Congo.
The patient, a Congolese citizen living in Cagliari, had traveled to Kinshasa to visit family before returning to Italy via Cairo and Rome. Because he arrived from Egypt, he reportedly passed through standard airport screening procedures before reaching Sardinia.
Shortly after returning home, the man developed a high fever and general malaise and contacted emergency services. Specialized medical teams equipped with protective suits were dispatched to his residence, supported by police, firefighters and local authorities. The area around the home was temporarily sealed off during the operation.
The patient was transported in a bio-containment unit by the Italian Red Cross to the Infectious Diseases Department of Cagliari’s Santissima Trinità Hospital, where he remains in isolation. Biological samples have been sent to Rome’s Spallanzani Institute, Italy’s national reference center for infectious disease emergencies. To accelerate testing, the samples are being transported by military helicopter under the coordination of the Prefecture and Civil Protection authorities.
Results are expected within hours. If the tests confirm Ebola infection, the patient will be transferred immediately to the Spallanzani Institute. Italian health officials have stressed that the risk of wider transmission remains extremely low and that all precautionary measures have been implemented in accordance with national protocols.