A doctor who became France's first confirmed Ebola patient has recovered and been discharged from hospital, French Health Minister Catherine Vautrin announced on Saturday.
The doctor tested positive for the virus after returning to France from the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) on June 23, where he had been working as the central African nation battles a major Ebola outbreak.
French health authorities swiftly isolated the patient and carried out contact tracing, saying at the time that the risk of transmission to the public was very low.
The doctor's recovery comes as the DRC continues to grapple with one of its worst Ebola outbreaks in recent years. According to the latest official figures, the country has recorded more than 1,500 confirmed infections and nearly 500 deaths since the outbreak began.
Uganda has also reported imported cases linked to the outbreak, while France's case remained the country's only confirmed infection.
Ebola is a severe and often fatal viral disease spread through direct contact with the blood or other bodily fluids of an infected person. Symptoms typically begin with fever, headache and muscle pain before progressing to vomiting, diarrhoea and, in severe cases, internal and external bleeding.
Although there is no universal cure for all strains of the virus, advances in vaccines and supportive treatment have significantly improved survival rates in recent years.
French authorities say the patient's recovery highlights the effectiveness of early diagnosis, specialised treatment and strict infection prevention measures in containing imported cases while the outbreak continues in Central Africa.
Comments (0)