France Reports Ebola Case in Doctor Returning From Congo

FRANCE – A doctor who recently returned to France from a humanitarian mission in the Democratic Republic of Congo has tested positive for Ebola, marking the country’s first confirmed case linked to the current outbreak.

The patient has been placed in isolation and health authorities are tracing contacts. The Health Ministry says the risk to the wider European population is low.

A World Health Organization chief said that in the past 50 years, fewer than 30 Ebola cases have been detected outside Africa.

Congo’s Ebola outbreak is linked to a rare strain of the virus. It has infected more than 1,000 people and killed 267, generating the largest number of confirmed cases within the first month of any episode of the disease.