France confirms first Ebola case
France has confirmed its first Ebola case in a doctor who recently returned from a humanitarian mission in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DR Congo), the French Ministry of Health reported on Wednesday.
The ministry said the patient was admitted to a specialized facility and is in stable condition. He has been placed in isolation as part of precautionary measures.
“A thorough epidemiological investigation is underway to identify individuals who may have been in contact with the patient,” the ministry said in a statement.
French Health Minister Stephanie Rist later confirmed that five people seated near the infected doctor on the flight to France have been identified and isolated. The Alliance for International Medical Action (ALIMA), a non-profit organization involved in the Ebola response in DR Congo, said the patient is a physician working with its team.
The case comes amid an ongoing Ebola outbreak in eastern DR Congo. Since the outbreak linked to the Bundibugyo strain of the virus began on May 15, 1,094 confirmed cases have been recorded and 277 deaths reported, the World Health Organization (WHO) said on Wednesday.
At least 75 healthcare workers have been infected, 17 of whom have died, according to WHO Emergency Director Marie Roseline Belizaire. The Bundibugyo strain currently has no approved vaccines or specific treatments.
Last month, the US denied entry to an Air France flight carrying a passenger from the DR Congo under stricter Ebola-related restrictions, forcing the aircraft to divert to Canada. Washington tightened travel measures in response to the outbreak on May 18, requiring travelers arriving from the DR Congo, South Sudan and Uganda to enter the US only through Washington Dulles International Airport.
WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus has said that while the Ebola outbreak in DR Congo is “continuing to outpace the response,” the risk of wider international spread remains low. Tedros told reporters that fewer than 30 Ebola cases have been detected outside Africa in the past 50 years, adding that France and other countries in Europe should not “overreact,” Reuters reported.
The European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control (ECDC) has similarly assessed the risk as “very low for the general European population,” according to the French Health Ministry statement.
