France reports first Ebola case in doctor returning from DRC

France has confirmed its first case of Ebola, a doctor who flew back from the Democratic Republic of Congo, where a major outbreak is underway.

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 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.

The health ministry said it had identified “a first positive case of Ebola virus disease on national territory”.

The patient “boarded a commercial flight from Kinshasa and was almost asymptomatic — except for headaches”, according to the ministry.

The ministry added the patient’s condition “slightly deteriorated during the flight”, after which they were immediately isolated and taken into care upon landing in Paris, even before the disease was officially identified.

The patient was in a “stable condition” and their viral load was “very low”, the ministry added.

Efforts were underway to identify potential contacts.

Prime Minister Sebastien Lecornu’s office said he was monitoring the situation “very closely”, but the health ministry stressed that the risk of transmission remained low.

ALIMA (The Alliance for International Medical Action), an international medical humanitarian organisation, said the patient was one of its doctors.

US surgeon recovered

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

According to the latest official figures, more than 1,000 cases have been recorded, including 267 deaths, representing a fatality rate of around 25 per cent.

Many experts consider it likely that the scale of the outbreak has been underestimated, as it is affecting remote regions.

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

Existing Ebola vaccines, developed between 2018 and 2019, are only effective against the Zaire strain, which caused previous major outbreaks.

In May, an American surgeon who contracted Ebola in the DRC was flown to Germany for treatment.

A Berlin hospital discharged the missionary earlier this month, saying he had recovered following 17 days of medical care.

The doctor, identified as Peter Stafford of the Serge charity, had received care that included “experimental therapies currently being trialled for this type of virus”, according to the hospital.

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

“The European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control (ECDC) considers the risk of infection to be low for European residents and travellers going to areas with active transmission, and very low for the general European population,” said the French health ministry.

World Health Organization Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said there was no need for panic.

He told a press conference that in the past 50 years fewer than 30 Ebola cases had been detected outside Africa.

“(That) means the risk (to the rest of the world) is low, whether it’s France or other countries in Europe, they shouldn’t overreact, that’s what I would like to advise,” he told reporters.

AFP