France detects first Ebola case from DRC outbreak, five contacts isolated

Case in France

On 25 June, French health authorities confirmed the first case of Ebola virus disease on French territory, linked to the outbreak in the Democratic Republic of Congo. The patient is a doctor who had been working with the NGO Alima (Alliance for International Medical Action) in one of the affected areas. He arrived at Paris Charles-de-Gaulle airport on 23 June on an Air France flight from Kinshasa. The man began the journey with only a mild headache, but his condition worsened during the flight; as a physician, he quickly recognized the signs and alerted the cabin crew. Upon landing, he was met by medical teams and taken directly to Bichat hospital in Paris.

The Ministry of Health stated that the patient was "immediately taken care of in a specialized facility and is in stable condition." He is isolated in a negative-pressure room with autonomous ventilation for the 21-day incubation period.

The patient, returning from one of the areas where the virus is circulating in the DRC, was immediately taken care of in a specialized facility and is in stable condition.

Containment measures

Air France provided the passenger manifest to health authorities. Five people seated close to the doctor on the Kinshasa-Paris flight were identified as contact cases and ordered to observe a 21-day home isolation. Health Minister Stéphanie Rist confirmed that "as soon as we were alerted, we obviously looked at the persons who were quite close to him on the plane." The ministry added that the patient's viral load is "very low" and that Ebola is only mildly contagious in the early phase of the disease.

Prime Minister Sébastien Lecornu said he was following the situation "very closely." The European Commission noted that "the French authorities have all the necessary resources to contain the case," and the European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control (ECDC) assessed the risk for the European population as a whole as "very low."

As soon as we were alerted, we obviously looked at the persons who were quite close to him on the plane.

DRC outbreak and international response

The outbreak in the DRC, which began on 15 May, has now surpassed 1,000 confirmed cases and caused more than 270 deaths, according to Deutsche Welle.

The World Health Organization's Director-General, Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, said on Wednesday that the risk of further international spread is low.

The Africa CDC director general, Dr Jean Kaseya, speaking from Kinshasa, stressed the urgency of identifying contacts: "We need $1.4 billion quickly to fight the Ebola virus." He added that the real challenge is tracing the more than 26,000 people potentially exposed but not yet located, amid deep distrust of authorities and a severe lack of resources.

The risk of the virus spreading further is low.

European preparedness

The EU's Health Security Committee met on 18 June to discuss measures for a possible imported case, based on operational guidelines from the ECDC. Exit screening is underway in affected areas, and an EU health task force has been sent to Uganda and the DRC to assess control procedures. Brussels said it expects further imported cases, especially among healthcare and humanitarian workers, and that "the level of preparedness for other possible cases is high."

The Italian infectious-disease expert Matteo Bassetti noted that the current Ebola outbreak is "probably the worst ever seen in history" and called for coordinated European policies to support medical teams in Africa and monitor travellers. The last known case involving a foreign health worker was an American doctor who tested positive in the DRC last month and was treated at the Charité hospital in Berlin.

The epidemic that is hitting the Democratic Republic of Congo and partly Uganda is probably the worst Ebola epidemic ever seen in history.