A medical practitioner who returned to France after serving in Congo has tested positive for Ebola.
It marked France’s first reported case of the Ebola virus during the current outbreak, confirms the French health ministry on Wednesday, June 24, 2026.
The ministry issued a statement confirming that the patient is being isolated, adding the risk of the virus for the general public is low.
Congo’s Ebola outbreak has so far claimed 267 lives, infecting over 1,000 people.
According to the WHO, the Ebola virus has posted the highest number of confirmed Ebola cases within the first month of any episode of the disease.
The outbreak is caused by the Bundibugyo virus, a type of Ebola for which WHO has not approved any drugs or vaccines.
However, the authorities are working on experimenting with vaccines on four candidates, but clinical trials have not yet started.
Germany and the Czech Republic last month took two doctors infected with Ebola virus for hospitalization.
The disease has the potential of killing up to 90% of the infected patients and can relapse in patients who recovered from it months or years later.
Common Ebola symptoms are a prolonged high fever, joint or body pain, nausea, diarrhea and dehydration, rash and in some cases bleeding.
2026-06-24 15:52:00
