France announces first Ebola case in doctor returned from DR Congo

French health authorities on Wednesday announced the first confirmed case of Ebola identified on national territory – a doctor who had returned from the Democratic Republic of Congo.

Issued on: 24/06/2026 - 22:13

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For the first time, a case of Ebola has been identified on French territory, in a humanitarian doctor returning from the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), where a major epidemic has broken out.

The French case is the first identified outside the African continent for this epidemic, which is also affecting Uganda and involves a rare strain of the virus, known as Bundibugyo, against which there is neither a vaccine nor a specific treatment.

The disease, which manifests as a hemorrhagic fever is very often fatal.

The French Ministry of Health said in a statement that the patient has been isolated and is in stable condition.

"All precautionary measures, including the patient's isolation, were taken upon his arrival in France, with transfer to the hospital under secure conditions to avoid any risk of contamination," the Ministry further assured.

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When contacted by French news agency AFP, the ministry confirmed that the case was identified in mainland France.

It also said a dedicated monitoring system has been put in place for the return of French aid workers to the national territory.

In 2014, during a major outbreak in West Africa, two patients were admitted to France, but only after having been diagnosed abroad.

However, a few cases were detected at that time in the United States and the United Kingdom.

The situation is being monitored "very closely" by Prime Minister Sébastien Lecornu, according to his entourage.

Low risk of infection

The European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control (ECDC) has assessed the risk of infection as low for European residents and travellers going to areas with active transmission, and very low for the general European population, the Ministry of Health stated.

An investigation is underway to identify potential contacts, who will be required to self-isolate at home for 21 days.

The DRC's 17th Ebola outbreak was declared on 15 May after several unexplained deaths in the mineral-rich but volatile eastern Ituri province.

The disease has infected 1,048 people, according to the latest official figures, and caused 267 deaths in one of the world's poorest nations.

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The WHO indicated in mid-June that the transmission of the epidemic is accelerating in the DRC despite strengthened health response measures.

Since the start of the outbreak, many patients have preferred to consult traditional healers rather than go to hospitals.

Public mistrust runs deep in a region that has for years been ravaged by violence waged by various armed groups, which regularly carry out massacres.

The vaccine candidate the World Health Organization has dubbed "most promising" is based on the rVSV platform used to make the only licensed Ebola vaccine, developed between 2018 and 2019.

The new jab has been tweaked to target Bundibugyo, rather than the more common Zaire strain.

The WHO has estimated it will take seven to nine months before the new vaccine is ready to be tested in humans.

(with newswires)