Belgium ran a national simulation exercise on 17 March 2026 based on an Ebola virus disease outbreak scenario, with support from the EU Health Task Force deployed by the European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control (ECDC).
The exercise was organised after a request from Belgium’s Federal Public Service for Health, Food Chain Safety and Environment, ECDC announced on Tuesday.
It brought together Belgian stakeholders involved in preparing for and responding to public health emergencies, including hospital services, laboratory diagnostics, disease surveillance, crisis coordination, risk communication and points of entry such as borders and transport hubs.
Participants also included professionals from the police, national defence, air transport and rail transport.
The simulation tested cross-sector coordination and information exchange, surveillance and early detection of imported cases, and response measures including contact tracing, containment, case management and laboratory diagnostics.
Isolation units and communication planning
The exercise assessed readiness in high-level isolation units at two national reference hospitals, as well as approaches to risk communication, including handling media requests and rumours, the agency said.
International collaboration was also included in the assessment.
The EU Health Task Force is a public health workforce coordinated by ECDC that can be deployed to support European Union and European Economic Area countries and others during outbreaks and other health threats linked to infectious diseases or diseases of unknown origin.
