For the first time, Bundibugyo in Europe and Ebola in France. Is there danger?

Doctor returned with the illness on a flight from DRCongo. It is the first case identified outside Africa of Bundibugyo, the current outbreak for which there is no treatment or vaccine.

France detected the first positive case of Ebola in the country. The infected person is a humanitarian doctor who recently returned from a mission in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRCongo), a region where the virus is in active circulation, the French Ministry of Health reported this Wednesday.

The patient was assisted immediately upon arrival in French territory and transferred to a hospital unit specializing in highly transmissible infectious diseases. According to health authorities, who released information in , the doctor is stable.

The French Ministry of Health stressed that health security protocols were activated immediately, including the isolation of the patient and their transport under controlled conditions, to avoid any risk of contagion.

Specialized infrastructure

This is the first time that a case of Ebola has been diagnosed in France. In 2014, during the major epidemic in West Africa, two patients were received on French territory for treatment, but had been diagnosed abroad.

France has specialized infrastructure for the treatment of highly contagious diseases, with hospital units equipped with negative pressure systems and strict biosafety measures, highlighted the Ministry of Health.

At the same time, an epidemiological investigation was launched to identify people who may have had contact with the infected patient. These contacts will be located by the regional health agency and must undergo home isolation for 21 days, with medical monitoring throughout the period.

Emergency

The announcement comes after the World Health Organization (WHO) declared, on May 17, a Public Health Emergency of International Importance (ESPII), in response to the circulation of the virus in eastern DRCongo.

In this context, the European Center for Disease Prevention and Control (ECDC) maintains its risk assessment as low for travelers traveling to areas with active transmission and very low for the general population in Europe.

The authorities also reinforced the health surveillance system for French people returning from risk areas, the Ministry concluded in the note.

First case outside Africa

The French case is the first identified outside the African continent in the current outbreak, which is also affecting Uganda and was caused by an unusual strain of the virus called Bundibugyofor which there is no vaccine or specific treatment.

The World Health Organization (WHO) recently indicated that transmission is accelerating in the Democratic Republic of Congo, despite the health response measures adopted.

According to official data, they were identified 896 cases, including 232 deaths. However, experts consider it very likely that the real number is higher than that recorded.

The risk of an outbreak in Europe remains low, WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus assured at a press conference: in the last 50 years, fewer than 30 cases of Ebola have been detected outside of Africa.

“This means that the risk for the rest of the world is low; whether it is France or other countries in Europe, they should not overreact, that is what I would like to advise,” Tedros told journalists, quoted by .