France confirms first Ebola case outside Africa in current outbreak

<p>France has announced its first confirmed case of Ebola.</p>

<p>Image: File</p>

<p>France on Wednesday announced its first confirmed case of Ebola identified on its territory, a doctor back from the Democratic Republic of Congo, which is fighting a major outbreak.</p>

<p>The case is the first of the deadly haemorrhagic fever identified outside the African continent during the current outbreak, which has also affected Uganda.</p>

<p>It's also the first time Ebola has been detected in France.</p>

<p>In 2014, during a major outbreak in West Africa, two patients were transported to France, but they had been diagnosed abroad.</p>

<p>The health ministry "confirms today the identification of a first positive case of Ebola virus disease on national territory", said a statement.</p>

<p>Contacted by AFP, the ministry specified that the case had been identified in mainland France.</p>

<p>The doctor was isolated on arrival in France, even before the disease was officially identified, the ministry added.</p>

<p>Prime Minister Sebastien Lecornu is monitoring the situation "very closely", his office said.</p>

<p>The DRC's 17th Ebola outbreak was declared on May 15 after several unexplained deaths in the mineral-rich but volatile eastern Ituri province.</p>

<p>The Bundibugyo strain of the virus that has caused the outbreak currently has no approved vaccine or treatment.</p>

<p>Public health experts estimate that the risk of the outbreak spreading worldwide remains low, due to the relatively low contagiousness of the Ebola virus.</p>

<p><strong>AFP</strong></p>