Well, this is a first for France, and not the good kind. Health officials have just confirmed an Ebola case right on French turf.

France has logged its very first case of Ebola actually detected on home soil, officials announced on Wednesday.

The patient? A doctor who’d just come back from the Democratic Republic of Congo, where they’re battling a major outbreak at the moment.

It’s a big deal because this is the first time during the current outbreak, which has also hit Uganda, that Ebola has popped up outside Africa.

And for France specifically, it’s the first home-grown detection ever. Back in 2014, during that huge West Africa outbreak, France did treat two Ebola patients, but they were diagnosed abroad before being flown in.

The health ministry confirmed the news in a statement, telling AFP the case was identified in mainland France. The good news is the doctor was isolated straight after arriving, even before test results came back positive.

Prime Minister Sebastien Lecornu’s office says he’s keeping a “very close” eye on the situation.

The DRC declared its 17th Ebola outbreak on May 15 after a string of unexplained deaths in the eastern Ituri province. The strain behind it is Bundibugyo, and right now there’s no approved vaccine or treatment for it.

That said, public health experts reckon the global risk is still low. Ebola isn’t that easy to catch compared to something like flu or Covid.

Source: cbinews.tv

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