World News
France confirms first Ebola case in doctor who had worked in DRC
The first case of Ebola has been confirmed in France, the country’s health ministry has said, in a doctor who had returned from a humanitarian mission to an area affected by the outbreak in the Democratic Republic of the Congo.
The patient was transferred to a specialist facility and was in a stable condition, the ministry said in a statement. “All precautionary measures, including the patient’s isolation, were taken upon his arrival in the country, with transfer to the hospital under secure conditions to prevent any risk of contamination.” The French health ministry also says patient’s contacts are being traced and that risk to the European public is very low.
The World Health Organization declared the outbreak on 15 May, and two days later declared a public health emergency of international concern. Experts believe the virus was circulating in the DRC undetected for weeks before, however, and that the scale of the outbreak there is likely to be much larger than the confirmed cases suggest.