A doctor who returned to France after serving in the Congo has tested positive for Ebola.
It marked France’s first reported case of the Ebola virus during the current outbreak, the French Ministry of Health confirmed on Wednesday, June 24, 2026.
The ministry issued a statement confirming that the patient is being isolated, adding that the risk of the virus to the public is low.
Congo’s Ebola outbreak has so far killed 267 people and infected over 1,000 people.
According to the WHO, the Ebola virus has sent the highest number of confirmed Ebola cases within the first month of an episode of the disease.
The outbreak is caused by the Bundibugyo virus, a type of Ebola for which the WHO has not approved drugs or vaccines.
However, the authorities are working on experimenting with vaccines on four candidates, but clinical trials have not yet started.
Last month, Germany and the Czech Republic hospitalized two doctors infected with the Ebola virus.
The disease has the potential to kill up to 90% of infected patients and can recur in recovered patients months or years later.
Common Ebola symptoms are prolonged high fever, joint or body pain, nausea, diarrhea and dehydration, rash and, in some cases, bleeding.
