France reports first Ebola case in doctor returning from DRC

France Reports First Ebola Case in Doctor Returning from DRC

France has confirmed its first Ebola case, a doctor who had returned from a humanitarian mission to the Democratic Republic of the Congo, according to the French Health Ministry. The case is the first of the deadly haemorrhagic fever identified outside the African continent during the current outbreak, which has also affected Uganda.

The patient, who had been working with the Alliance for International Medical Action (ALIMA), boarded a commercial flight from Kinshasa while "virtually asymptomatic — except for headaches," the ministry said. His condition "slightly deteriorated during the flight," after which he was immediately isolated and taken into care upon landing in Paris, even before the disease was officially identified. He is now in a "stable condition" with a "very low" viral load, according to ministry statements.

Authorities are tracing the patient's contacts, who are expected to remain in home quarantine for 21 days. The health ministry stressed that the risk to the general public remains low. Prime Minister Sebastien Lecornu's office said he was monitoring the situation "very closely," but did not announce any new restrictions.

The current outbreak, which began in mid-May and is centred on Ituri province in north-eastern DRC, has seen more than 1,000 confirmed cases and 267 deaths, according to the DRC health ministry's latest data. Uganda has recorded 20 cases and two deaths. The World Health Organization (WHO) declared the outbreak on 15 May and two days later declared a public health emergency of international concern.

The WHO chief, Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, warned against "over-reaction" to the case, saying there was "no need for panic" and that "the risk to the rest of the world is low." He also said the case served as "a reminder of the risks faced by frontline responders," noting that almost 80 health workers had been infected.

The current strain of the disease is the rare Bundibugyo virus, for which there is no approved vaccine or specific treatment. The main approved Ebola treatments are for the Zaire strain, which caused the devastating 2014-16 West Africa outbreak. Bundibugyo Ebola has generally shown lower fatality rates, about 30 to 50 percent in past outbreaks.

The humanitarian response has been complicated by aid cuts and conflict in North and South Kivu provinces, to the south of Ituri, where the Rwanda-backed M23 rebel group operates and Ebola cases have also been detected. The outbreak had the largest number of confirmed cases within the first month of any Ebola outbreak, according to Abdirahman Mahamud, a WHO official.

This is the first time France has detected Ebola. In 2014, during a major outbreak in West Africa, two patients were transported to France, but they had been diagnosed abroad.