French officials on Wednesday confirmed the first case of Ebola in the country, saying that a humanitarian worker who had traveled to the Democratic Republic of Congo, where an outbreak began last month, tested positive for the virus.
The aid worker was admitted to a special health care facility and is in stable condition, the health ministry said in a statement.
French health workers are racing to trace anyone who may have come in contact with the person. Contacts will have to be isolated for 21 days and will be closely monitored, the ministry said.
The risk of infection remained low for residents of the European Union, according to the European Center for Disease Prevention and Control.
The Democratic Republic of Congo is the center of the outbreak. At least 260 people have died and there have been more than 1,000 confirmed cases, according to the World Health Organization. Most of the cases are in the northeastern Ituri Province.
Many in the region have been displaced by conflict, creating conditions for the rapid spread of the virus and making it difficult to contain.
The outbreak is the 17th in Congo in recent decades, and it has tested the country’s expertise and resources. The type of Ebola virus behind this outbreak, known as Bundibugyo, is rare, with no targeted vaccines or treatment.
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