France reports first case of Ebola and WHO launches its first trials
France has confirmed its first imported case of Bundibugyo Ebola virus disease linked to the ongoing outbreak in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC). The patient is a humanitarian worker returning from an Ebola-affected area in eastern DRC.
In a statement, the French Ministry of Health sought to reassure the public that the patient was immediately admitted to a specialized facility and said he is in a stable condition
The ministry stressed that France has extensive experience managing highly infectious diseases and that the patient is being treated under strict biosafety conditions, including isolation in a negative-pressure room. Authorities have launched a full epidemiological investigation to identify anyone who may have come into contact with the patient.
Contacts will be required to self-isolate for 21 days and will be monitored by regional health authorities. Dedicated monitoring has also been established for French aid workers returning from affected regions.
Following confirmation of the French case, the European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control (ECDC) called on European countries to maintain vigilance and called on member states to continue to strengthen their preparedness, adding that “the risk of sustained transmission within the EU/EEA is very low provided that effective measures for early detection, isolation and treatment of patients are in place.”
Health officials reiterated that Ebola is transmitted through direct contact with the blood or other bodily fluids of infected people or animals and is not spread through the air. Health-care workers and individuals working closely with affected communities remain at the greatest risk of infection.
Speaking during a WHO briefing, Director-General Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus warned that although progress is being made in controlling the outbreak, significant challenges remain.
“The co-ordinated response to the outbreak is starting to take hold, but continued scale-up is needed,” Tedros said. He pointed to...
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