French health authorities have confirmed the country’s first known case of Ebola, identified in a doctor returning to France from the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC).
In a statement released on Wednesday, France’s health ministry said the humanitarian medic is now in a “stable condition”, having been immediately taken to a specialised facility.
France has “specialised capabilities for managing highly transmissible infectious diseases”, the ministry said, with patients treated in “a designated healthcare facility, following strict biosafety protocols”.
“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 statement said.
A laboratory technician works with a patient in Kikyo Trading village, in Uganda, which has also been impacted by the outbreak. Credit: AP
“A thorough epidemiological investigation is underway to identify individuals who may have been in contact with the patient.
“These individuals will be contacted without delay by the regional health agency, will undergo 21 days of home isolation, and will be closely monitored during this period.”
It comes after the World Health Organisation (WHO) declared a “Public Health Emergency of International Concern” on May 17 in response to the spread of the Ebola virus in the DRC.
French medics have been part of international efforts to treat and help those affected by the outbreak, which has continued to present a major challenge.
On Sunday, confirmed cases in eastern Congo reached 1,003, including 254 deaths, Congo’s Ministry of Health said.
Authorities said a total of 100 people have recovered in the outbreak concentrated in the Ituri province since it was declared on May 15, while at least 365 patients are in hospitals or in isolation.The Ebola outbreak caused by the rare Bundibugyo virus, which has no vaccines or treatment, was the worst ever in its first month.
Officials admit there could be far more cases they still don’t know about, and that the peak of the outbreak is still ahead.
Loved ones attend the funeral of six-month-old Vanisa Anifa, who died of Ebola, in Bunia, Congo. Credit: AP
Contact tracing remains a key issue for local authorities, who have only achieved a 55% coverage rate, the ministry said.Officials also have yet to identify the patient zero and trace more than 35,000 people who have come in contact with infected individuals as of last week, authorities said.
The European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control (ECDC) has assessed the risk of infection as low for European residents and travellers to areas of active transmission, and very low for the general European population.
The UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA) says that while “the WHO assesses the risk of this event as low at a global level, high at the regional level and very high at a national level”, the risk to the UK population “is assessed as low”.
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