For the first time outside the African continent, a case of Ebola virus infection has been officially confirmed in France. Still, the World Health Organization (WHO) and French health authorities warned against excessive fear, saying the likelihood of global spread and the risk level felt by the general public are very low.
According to AFP and other foreign media on the 24th local time, the French Health Ministry said that a positive result for the Ebola virus was detected for the first time within French territory. The office of Prime Minister Sébastien Lecornu also said it recognizes the matter as serious and is monitoring changes in the situation in real time.
The patient who tested positive this time was identified as a practicing physician who recently returned from the Democratic Republic of the Congo, where Ebola is spreading, after carrying out medical relief work. During the West Africa Ebola outbreak in the past, patients were transported to France for treatment, but this is the first time a confirmed case has been identified in the mainland.
According to the French Health Ministry, when the patient boarded a civilian flight departing from Kinshasa, the capital of the Democratic Republic of the Congo, there were no particular symptoms other than a mild headache. However, the person's condition gradually worsened during the flight, and the patient was immediately isolated upon landing at a Paris airport under quarantine procedures.
The ministry said the patient's viral load is remarkably low and the condition is stable, and added that it is conducting epidemiological tracing of people who may have overlapped with or come into contact with the patient in and outside the aircraft. So far, the Democratic Republic of the Congo has reported 1,094 cumulative infections and 277 deaths, and neighboring Uganda has reported 20 confirmed cases and 2 deaths.
At a news conference the same day, WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus made clear there is no need to fall into excessive panic. Tedros said, "The risk of spread to the rest of the world remains minimal," while expressing concern that the pace of response in the Democratic Republic of the Congo and Uganda is failing to keep up with the virus's spread. In particular, he noted that nearly 80 health care workers who have been fighting on all fronts have been infected and stressed the need to significantly strengthen infection control measures for frontline personnel.
Meanwhile, the currently circulating Ebola "Bundibugyo" variant still has no globally approved vaccine or standard treatment. Accordingly, Tedros said clinical trials using two candidate substances will begin in the Democratic Republic of the Congo starting next week. The plan is to test whether administering the monoclonal antibody "MBP134" and the existing antiviral "remdesivir," either alone or in combination, can reduce patient fatality, and the WHO plans to work closely with the local community to enhance the safety and participation of the trials.