A doctor returning from a humanitarian mission in Congo has tested positive for Ebola, the country's first case of the virus during the current outbreak, the French health ministry announced on Wednesday.
The patient is in a stable condition and was transferred to hospital and isolated under secure conditions to avoid any risk of contamination. Authorities are also conducting contact tracing, the ministry said in a statement. The risk for the general European population was reportedly "very low", according to Reuters.
The Ebola outbreak in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) and Uganda has so far infected more than 1,000 people and killed 267. This is the highest number of confirmed cases within the first month of any episode of the disease, the World Health Organization (WHO) said. In May, the WHO declared it a "public health emergency of international concern".
What is Ebola?
Ebola virus disease is a serious and often fatal disease, according to the ministry. The virus is transmitted to humans from animals, and can be spread through bodily fluids, objects that have been contaminated by bodily fluids from infected patients, such as needles, and bush meat from wildlife.
The disease is characterised by high fevers and often fatal haemorrhages. The incubation period – the time between contact with the virus and the appearance of the first symptoms – varies from two to 21 days. As long as they do not show symptoms, infected people are not contagious.
There is no specific treatment for Ebola virus disease: it is based on the management of symptoms, including rehydration.
