France confirms first Ebola case in doctor who had worked in DRC

The first case of Ebola has been confirmed in France, the country’s health ministry has said, in a doctor who had returned from a humanitarian mission to an area affected by the outbreak in the Democratic Republic of the Congo . The patient was transferred to a specialist facility and was in a stable condition, the ministry said in a statement . “All precautionary measures, including the patient’s isolation, were taken upon his arrival in the country, with transfer to the hospital under secure conditions to prevent any risk of contamination.” Authorities are tracing the patient’s contacts, who will have to isolate at home for 21 days. The ministry said the risk to the general European public was very low. The outbreak is centred on Ituri province in north-eastern DRC, where authorities are battling to contain the spread of the virus. There had been 1,048 confirmed cases and 267 deaths as of 21 June, according to the DRC health ministry’s latest data , while 112 people have recovered. Neighbouring Uganda has recorded 20 cases and two deaths. The World Health Organization declared the outbreak on 15 May , and two days later declared a public health emergency of international concern . Experts believe the virus was circulating in the DRC undetected for weeks before, however, and that the scale of the outbreak there is likely to be much larger than the confirmed cases suggest. Medical workers disinfect themselves at an Ebola treatment centre in Mongbwalu, in Ituri province, DRC. …