Ebola Case Confirmed
France Confirms Ebola Case: Doctor Stable After Congo Humanitarian Mission Return
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France confirmed its first case of Ebola on national territory on June 24, 2026, after a humanitarian doctor returned from a mission in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC). The patient is in stable condition and is being treated under strict biosafety protocols at a specialized reference hospital, French Ministry of Health announced.
The case marks a new milestone in an outbreak that has already infected 1,094 people and killed 277 since it was declared in May, according to Sky News. The outbreak is caused by the Bundibugyo ebolavirus (BDBV) — a strain for which there are currently no approved vaccines or treatments.
A Humanitarian Doctor Brings Ebola to Europe
The infected doctor had been working in Ituri Province, in northeastern DRC, one of the outbreak's most active zones. French authorities identified the suspected case on the evening of June 23. By 9:26 AM the next morning, the Ministry of Health officially confirmed the diagnosis, according to Reuters.
Health Minister Stéphanie Rist said: "The patient is being treated in a reference health center under strict biosafety protocols." All close contacts of the doctor are now subject to a 21-day mandatory home isolation, per French Ministry of Health guidelines.
A Deadlier Strain With No Vaccine Available
This outbreak is caused by the Bundibugyo ebolavirus, not the better-known Zaire strain. The difference matters: no approved vaccine or specific treatment exists for BDBV. The case fatality rate in this outbreak is estimated between 25% and 30%, according to WHO and the CDC.
The Bundibugyo strain was first discovered in Uganda in 2007, causing 131 cases and 42 deaths. A second outbreak hit the DRC in 2012 with 38 cases and 12 deaths. This 2026 outbreak, centered in conflict-torn Ituri Province, is by far the largest ever recorded for this strain.
WHO Declared Emergency as Global Response Lags Behind
The DRC's Ministry of Health declared the outbreak on May 14–15, 2026. Just three days later, WHO Director-General Dr. Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus declared it a Public Health Emergency of International Concern (PHEIC) — the highest global health alert level, according to WHO.
By June 15, Médecins Sans Frontières warned the response was "not in phase with the speed of propagation." MSF cited hundreds of untested samples and critical gaps in diagnostic capacity across the DRC. So far, 75 healthcare workers in the DRC have been infected and 17 have died, according to MSF.
France Says Risk Is Low, But Experts Warn of Blind Spots
French health authorities and the European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control (ECDC) say the risk to the general European public is "very low." France has handled imported Ebola cases before — two during the 2014–2016 West Africa epidemic — with no secondary transmission on French soil, according to ECDC.
Still, global funding gaps remain. The G7 pledged a coordinated response on June 17, with the US committing $370 million. A further $500 million pledge is pending. The IOM has warned that border closures by some of the DRC's neighbors risk pushing population movement underground — making the outbreak harder to track, according to ReliefWeb.
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