© picture alliance / Anadolu | Stringer
The first case of a Ebola virus infection since a new outbreak was reported in the Congo has been confirmed in France. The patient is a doctor who returned to France from the Congo after a humanitarian mission.
The doctor was immediately taken to a specialized center, the French Ministry of Health reported on Wednesday. The man is in stable condition, the ministry added. According to the ministry, the risk to the general population is “very low.”
The infection comes at a time when the Democratic Republic of the Congo is dealing with a major outbreak, primarily in the eastern provinces of Ituri, South Kivu, and North Kivu. More than 260 deaths and approximately 1,000 infections have been reported there. According to the World Health Organization, in Uganda, a neighboring country of the DRC, 20 people have been infected and 2 have died.
Authorities are tracing the doctor’s contacts, and France has set up a monitoring system for aid workers returning from the region.
The outbreak is particularly concerning because it is also affecting healthcare workers and is caused by the Bundibugyo strain of the virus, for which no vaccine is currently available.
Picture: © picture alliance / Anadolu | Stringer