France detects first Ebola case outside Africa in current outbreak

PARIS: France on Wednesday announced its first confirmed case of Ebola identified on its territory, a doctor back from the Democratic Republic of Congo, which is fighting a major outbreak.

The case is the first of the deadly haemorrhagic fever identified outside the African continent during the current outbreak, which has also affected Uganda.

It’s also the first time Ebola has been detected in France.

In 2014, during a major outbreak in West Africa, two patients were transported to France, but they had been diagnosed abroad.

The health ministry “confirms today the identification of a first positive case of Ebola virus disease on national territory”, said a statement.

Contacted by AFP, the ministry specified that the case had been identified in mainland France.

The doctor was isolated on arrival in France, even before the disease was officially identified, the ministry added.

Prime Minister Sebastien Lecornu is monitoring the situation “very closely”, his office said.

The DRC’s 17th Ebola outbreak was declared on May 15 after several unexplained deaths in the mineral-rich but volatile eastern Ituri province.

The Bundibugyo strain of the virus that has caused the outbreak currently has no approved vaccine or treatment.

Public health experts estimate that the risk of the outbreak spreading worldwide remains low due to the relatively low contagiousness of the Ebola virus.