French health officials confirmed on Wednesday that a doctor has tested positive for the Ebola virus after returning from a humanitarian mission in the Democratic Republic of the Congo. The French Health Ministry announced the case, the first in the country connected to the current outbreak, in a statement released on June 24.
According to the ministry, the healthcare worker had been operating in a region of the DRC affected by the ongoing Ebola outbreak. Upon arrival in France, the individual was placed in isolation and transferred to a specialized medical facility.
“The patient is being treated at a leading healthcare facility, following strict biosafety protocols,” the ministry’s statement read. It added that “all precautionary measures, including the patient’s isolation, were implemented upon arrival in France, with transfer to the hospital under secure conditions to prevent any risk of contamination.”
In response to the confirmed case, health authorities have initiated an epidemiological investigation to trace individuals who may have been in contact with the patient. The ministry stated that those identified will be contacted and instructed by health authorities to self-isolate for 21 days, the maximum incubation period for the Ebola virus.
The case in France is linked to a wider Ebola outbreak that has been active in the northeastern Ituri province of the DRC since May. According to public health data, the outbreak in the central African country has caused more than 260 deaths and resulted in over 1,000 infections. Cases have also been identified in neighboring Uganda.
On May 17, the World Health Organization (WHO) designated the outbreak a “public health emergency of international concern.”
Health officials report that the current outbreak is caused by the Bundibugyo ebolavirus. This strain is different from the Zaire ebolavirus, which was responsible for most previous outbreaks in the DRC. There are currently no internationally approved vaccines or treatments specifically for the Bundibugyo strain.
