KINSHASA, June 24th, 2026 (CPA).— France has recorded its first case of Ebola Virus Disease (EVD), the French Ministry in charge of Health announced on Wednesday in a statement consulted by CPA. The patient is a French humanitarian doctor who recently returned from the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), where he had been working in an area experiencing active transmission of the virus, according to a statement issued by the Ministry in charge of Health, Family Affairs, Autonomy and Persons with Disabilities. “The Ministry in charge of Health confirms today the identification of a first positive case of Ebola Virus Disease on the national territory. The patient, who recently returned from a humanitarian mission in one of the Ebola-affected areas of the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), was immediately admitted to a specialized healthcare facility and is currently in stable condition,” the statement read. French authorities sought to reassure the public, stressing that the country “has specialized capacities for the management of highly transmissible infectious diseases.”
According to the ministry, the patient is being treated in a reference hospital and is receiving care in accordance with strict biosafety protocols, including accommodation in a negative-pressure isolation room as well as the use of dedicated equipment and procedures. Health authorities are also closely monitoring the situation and continuing the necessary investigations, particularly the identification and follow-up of potential contacts. The announcement comes after the World Health Organization (WHO) declared on May 17th the Ebola outbreak affecting the northeastern and eastern provinces of the Democratic Republic of the Congo a Public Health Emergency of International Concern (PHEIC). For its part, the European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control (ECDC) considers that “the risk of infection remains low for European residents and travelers visiting affected areas, and very low for the general European population.”