France has confirmed its first case of Ebola during the current epidemic: a doctor who returned from a humanitarian mission in the Democratic Republic of Congo has tested positive, according to French health authorities.
In a statement on Wednesday, the French Ministry of Health said the medical worker had been operating in one of the areas where the virus was circulating. “The patient is being treated in a leading medical facility, adhering to strict biosecurity protocols,” the ministry’s statement read. “All precautionary measures, including the isolation of the patient, were taken upon arrival in France, and his transportation to the hospital occurred under safe conditions to prevent any risk of infection,” it added.
An epidemiological investigation is currently underway to identify individuals who may have been in contact with the patient. Health authorities will reach out to them with a request to self-isolate for 21 days, the statement said.
Ebola outbreak in DR Congo and WHO response
Since May, the northeastern province of Ituri in the DRC has been the epicenter of an Ebola outbreak that has claimed the lives of more than 260 people and infected over a thousand in this Central African country. Cases of the disease have also been reported in neighboring Uganda.
On May 17, the World Health Organization (WHO) declared this outbreak “an emergency situation in the field of international health importance.” Most previous Ebola outbreaks in the DRC were caused by a virus known as Ebola Zaire, but the current outbreak is linked to a different strain — Bundibugyo, for which there are currently no approved vaccines or treatment methods.
Source: Al Jazeera