Ebola detected in France after doctor tests positive following aid mission

The outbreak has been raging for over a month now (Picture: Reuters)

A French doctor who was working in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) has tested positive for Ebola after returning home.

France’s health ministry said the patient had been on a humanitarian mission and is currently isolating.

Those who may have come into contact with the patient are being traced,and the general risk the outbreak presents in Europe remains low.

Last week,it was revealed that the ‘first line of defence’ against the deadly strain of Ebola has collapsed.

The DRC is facing its largest ever outbreak of the virus,with nearly 781 infected and 267 dead.

But Oxfam has warned that the true toll is likely far higher,as the country’s contact tracing programme and water infrastructure are at breaking point.

Contact tracing – identifying the people an infected person has come into contact with – has just 43% coverage in DRC.

Oxfam fieldwork found that there are just 0.2 doctors per 1,000 people,and some 70 health facilities have been destroyed by conflict.

The years-long violence in DRC has displaced millions,including people in Ituri,complicating contact tracing efforts.

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