France reports first Ebola case in doctor returning from DR Congo

A staff member carries out disinfection at an Ebola treatment center in Bunia, Ituri Province, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, June 9, 2026. (Photo: Xinhua)

By Mary Wambui
Wednesday, June 24, 2026

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According to the French Health Ministry, the doctor had returned from a humanitarian mission in North Kivu, the epicentre of the virus that has so far claimed 277 lives and left 1,094 more infected.

France has reported its first case of the deadly Bundibugyo Ebola Virus after a doctor returning from the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) tested positive upon arrival.

According to the French Health Ministry, the doctor had returned from a humanitarian mission in North Kivu, the epicentre of the virus that has so far claimed 277 lives and left 1,094 infected.

"The patient is being isolated, and ⁠authorities are conducting contact tracing," ⁠the Ministry said, adding that the risk for the general European population was low.

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Following the Public Health Emergency of International Concern (PHEIC) declared by the World Health Organization (WHO) on May 17 in response to the active circulation of the Ebola virus in Ituri Province, DRC, the European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control (ECDC) has assessed the risk of infection as low for European residents and travelers to areas of active transmission, and very low for the general European population. Dedicated monitoring is being implemented for the return of French aid workers.

Experts say the outbreak in the DRC was detected late, as it had already been circulating for months before it was officially declared on May 15.

According to the World Health Organisation's Abdirahman Mahamud, part of the reason for the scale of the outbreak was that some early confirmed cases were in urban centres, such as Bunia and the mining town of Mongbwalu.

"What is important is we need to scale up, and this outbreak is moving faster than us," he told reporters after returning from Bunia last week.