France's Health Ministry confirmed on July 13 the country's first Ebola case since the current outbreak began. The patient is a doctor who recently returned from the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), where he was on a humanitarian mission in a virus-affected area.
According to a press release from the French Health Ministry, the patient is being treated at a leading medical facility under rigorous biosafety protocols. "All preventive measures, including patient isolation, were implemented immediately upon arrival in France, and the transfer to the hospital was carried out under safe conditions to prevent any risk of infection," the statement said.
An epidemiological investigation is underway to identify anyone who may have come into contact with the patient. Those individuals will be contacted by health authorities and asked to self-isolate for 21 days.
Since May, the northeastern Ituri province in the DRC has been the epicenter of the Ebola outbreak, which has killed more than 260 people and infected over 1,000 in the Central African country. Cases have also been reported in neighboring Uganda.
On May 17, the World Health Organization (WHO) declared the outbreak a "Public Health Emergency of International Concern."
Unlike most previous Ebola outbreaks in the DRC caused by the Zaire strain, this outbreak is driven by a different strain known as Bundibugyo, for which no approved vaccine or treatment currently exists.
