A French doctor returning from a humanitarian mission in the Democratic Republic of Congo tested positive for Ebola after arriving in France, the Ministry of Health announced. The patient was immediately isolated and transferred to hospital under secure conditions to prevent infection.
Health authorities have launched an epidemiological investigation to trace all contacts. Those identified will self-isolate for 21 days and be closely monitored.
Officials stressed the risk to the general population is very low, noting that Ebola spreads only through direct contact with bodily fluids, not through the air. The European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control (ECDC) assessed the infection risk as low for travelers to affected areas and very low for the European public.
The case is the first on European soil in the current outbreak, which originated in Central Africa. Last month, an American doctor infected in the DRC was treated at Berlin's Charité hospital.
In the DRC, the outbreak has surged to over 1,000 cases and at least 260 deaths since mid-May. It is caused by the rare Bundibugyo strain, for which no approved vaccine or treatment exists. The epicentre is Ituri province, where armed conflict and population displacements are hampering response efforts. Only just over half of high-risk contacts have been identified. Overcrowded displacement camps are driving infections. The World Health Organization fears the crisis could expand, with cases already detected in neighboring Uganda.