ECDC, after conducting rapid risk assessments, has concluded that the risk of importation of infectious diseases from North Africa to the EU is  considered to be low. From a public health perspective, the most urgent concern is related to the poor living conditions of the migrants, such as overcrowding and poor sanitation.

* For the purpose of this risk assessment, ‘migrants’ is defined as including refugees, asylum seekers, displaced populations, irregular migrants and in some cases labour migrants, as defined by IOM in the Glossary on Migration, 2004 available at
http://www.iom.int/jahia/webdav/site/myjahiasite/shared/shared/mainsite/published_docs/serial_publications/Glossary_eng.pdf