JUST IN: France Confirms First Ebola Case

France has reported its first Ebola case after a doctor who recently returned from a humanitarian assignment in the Democratic Republic of Congo tested positive for the virus.

According to a report by BCC on its website, the doctor was “immediately admitted to a specialised facility” and is in a stable condition, the French health ministry said on Wednesday.

DR Congo announced an Ebola outbreak last month, but experts believe the virus had been circulating for weeks previously.

More than 260 people are confirmed to have died from the virus in the central African country, while 1,000 people have been infected.

This is the first Ebola case to have been confirmed in Europe, although an American doctor who tested positive in DR Congo was treated at a German hospital last month.

DR Congo’s neighbour, Uganda, has also confirmed Ebola cases. The World Health Organization (WHO) says 20 people are known to have been infected there and two deaths have been confirmed.

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In its statement on Wednesday, France’s health ministry stressed that the risk to the population was “very low”.

It added that authorities were working to trace people who may have been in contact with the doctor.

Healthcare workers are especially at risk from Ebola, which is spread through bodily fluids.

Last week, the World Health Organization (WHO) disclosed that 17 of the 75 healthcare workers infected during the Ebola outbreak in the Democratic Republic of Congo had died.

The ongoing outbreak is linked to the Bundibugyo strain of the Ebola virus, a variant for which no approved vaccine currently exists.

French authorities have also introduced a special surveillance programme for humanitarian workers returning from DR Congo, according to the country’s health ministry.

Both the Africa Centres for Disease Control and Prevention (Africa CDC) and United States health agencies have warned that the outbreak could become one of the most significant Ebola epidemics on record.

Within DR Congo, infections remain largely concentrated in the eastern provinces of Ituri, North Kivu and South Kivu, with Ituri accounting for more than 90 per cent of confirmed cases.

The WHO has further cautioned that ongoing insecurity in eastern DR Congo is hampering response efforts, particularly as the M23 rebel group continues to control extensive areas of North and South Kivu.