France Confirms First Ebola Case After Doctor Returns From Democratic Republic Of The Congo

France confirmed its first Ebola case during the current outbreak after a doctor returning from a humanitarian mission in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) tested positive, and French health authorities said the healthcare worker was operating in one of the areas where the virus was circulating.

The French Health Ministry said the patient is being treated at a leading healthcare facility following strict biosafety protocols, and that all precautionary measures, including the patient’s isolation, were implemented upon arrival in France.

ABC News

The doctor was immediately isolated upon landing in Paris, and the French Health Ministry said the patient was almost asymptomatic except for headaches when they boarded a commercial flight from Kinshasa.

The outbreak in the DRC, which emerged in DRC’s northeastern Ituri province in May, is continuing to outpace response efforts, with Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus saying contact-tracing is inadequate and treatment capacity is insufficient.

WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said there is no need to panic about France’s Ebola case, adding that in the past 50 years fewer than 30 Ebola cases had been detected outside Africa.

Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus told reporters that the risk to the rest of the world is low and that “they shouldn’t overreact,” framing the France case as something that should not trigger alarm.

In the same news conference, Tedros said the Ebola outbreak is continuing to outpace response efforts, warning that “Contact-tracing is inadequate, treatment capacity is insufficient, and safe burials remain a major challenge.”

Al Jazeera

The French Health Ministry said the patient “boarded a commercial flight from Kinshasa and was almost asymptomatic — except for headaches,” and that the patient’s condition “slightly deteriorated during the flight.”

The Alliance for International Medical Action said the patient was one of its doctors, while the French Health Ministry said efforts were underway to identify potential contacts.

Africa CDC head Jean Kaseya warned that the outbreak could be the worst ever, saying “We’re in a region where around one million people live in camps” and that access to those camps is a major challenge.

The Bundibugyo strain driving the outbreak has no approved vaccines or treatments, and Al Jazeera reported that UNICEF and Gavi were seeking information from vaccine developers and manufacturers on plans to develop a vaccine against the Bundibugyo strain.

Gavi’s commitment to support faster vaccine access with up to $40m was described as including funding to help scale up manufacturing and ensure doses are available if tests prove effective.

The French case also prompted epidemiological investigation and contact tracing, with the Al Jazeera report saying individuals who may have been in contact would be contacted by health authorities to self-isolate for 21 days.

WHO said clinical trials of two candidate substances are due to begin in Congo next week, with preparations complete, and Tedros said the trials would test “MBP-134” and “remdesivir,” either alone or in combination.

Al Jazeera said since May Ebola has killed 277 people and infected more than a thousand in the DRC, and it noted that cases have also been reported in neighbouring Uganda.