France has confirmed its first case of Ebola, involving a doctor who recently returned from a humanitarian mission in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), health authorities announced on Wednesday.
According to the French Ministry of Health, the doctor was immediately transferred to a specialized treatment facility upon diagnosis and is currently in stable condition. Officials emphasized that the risk of transmission to the general public remains “very low.”
The case marks the first confirmed Ebola infection in Europe linked to the ongoing outbreak in the DRC. While an American doctor who contracted the virus in the DRC was treated in Germany last month, the infection was not initially detected in Europe.
French authorities have launched contact-tracing efforts to identify and monitor anyone who may have been exposed to the infected doctor. The government also confirmed that it has established a dedicated monitoring system for aid workers returning from the DRC.
Growing Outbreak in Central Africa
The latest development comes as the DRC battles a major Ebola outbreak that was officially declared last month. Health experts, however, believe the virus had been spreading for weeks before authorities identified the outbreak.
The current outbreak is caused by the Bundibugyo strain of Ebola, for which there is currently no approved vaccine, complicating efforts to contain the disease.
More than 1,000 people have been infected in the DRC, with over 260 deaths recorded so far. The outbreak is concentrated in the eastern provinces of Ituri, North Kivu, and South Kivu, with Ituri accounting for more than 90% of confirmed cases.
Neighboring Uganda has also reported Ebola infections, with the World Health Organization (WHO) confirming 20 cases and two deaths.
Healthcare workers remain particularly vulnerable because Ebola spreads through direct contact with bodily fluids from infected individuals.
The WHO recently reported that 75 healthcare workers in the DRC had contracted the virus, with 17 fatalities recorded among them.
Despite the confirmed case in France, health authorities insist that existing monitoring and containment measures are sufficient to prevent wider spread of the virus within the country.
