France has just confirmed its first Ebola case. The patient is a doctor who had returned from a mission to the Democratic Republic of Congo (DR Congo). The health ministry said the patient has a “very low” viral load and that contacts are “currently being identified”.
The organization “confirms today the identification of a first positive case of Ebola virus disease on national territory”, said a statement.
This is the first time Ebola has ever been detected in France, and the case is the first of the deadly hemorrhagic fever to be identified outside the African continent during the current outbreak, which has also affected Uganda.
The doctor has been isolated in France, since before the disease was identified, according to the health ministry.
Prime Minister Sebastien Lecornu is monitoring the situation “very closely”, his office said, according to a report by France 24.
This is DR Congo’s 17th Ebola outbreak, although this one is presenting unprecedented problems with both treatment and containment.
The Bundibugyo strain, which is the one currently circulating, has no vaccine or treatment. Vaccine candidates are being fast-tracked, but nothing has made it to the public so far. Containment is difficult right now as the outbreak is occurring in an active conflict zone.
Just days ago, confirmed cases of the Bindibugyo strain of the Ebola virus topped 1,000. It also makes it the second-largest Ebola outbreak on record, according to the United States Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
Ebola Outbreak Update: Over 1,000 CONFIRMED Cases As Virus Continues to Spread
The most recent numbers from DR Congo’s health officials declare that there have been 1,048 confirmed cases and 267 confirmed deaths in both DR Congo and Uganda. At least 75 healthcare workers in DRC have contracted the virus, with 17 deaths recorded, according to a report by Al Jazeera.
Health officials continue to reiterate that the chances of this virus spreading worldwide are extremely low, due to the lower contagiousness of the virus.