FRANCE REPORTS IT'S FIRST CASE OF EBOLA

Written by Michael Thervil

FRANCE REPORTS IT'S FIRST CASE OF EBOLA | WRITTEN BY MICHAEL THERVIL

[Ebola France] While Ebola cases continue to rise in the Ituri Province of the Democratic Republic of Congo, where an estimated 1,118 confirmed cases and at least 277 deaths have been reported, France reported its first Ebola case on Wednesday. It is the first case reported outside the Congo since the outbreak began. The patient is a humanitarian aid doctor who had recently been deployed to the Congo to help contain the disease. Reports say the Doctor boarded a plane in Kinshasa while asymptomatic, showing no visible signs of illness. During the flight, however, the Doctor developed headaches and worsening symptoms before landing in Paris.

France's first Ebola victim is now being quarantined for a maximum of 21 days and has been diagnosed with having a “very low viral load” in their system. This would be the second person outside of Africa to contract Ebola since the start of the epidemic in the Congo this year. An American Doctor contracted after going to the country to administer humanitarian aid. During his return flight home, he was transported to Germany and treated in a Berlin hospital at Charité university to full recovery before being discharged.

What is known about this year's Ebola outbreak in the Congo is that not only is it a different strain of Ebola than the 2014-2016 epidemic, but it has a much lower fatality rate than that one as well. While the 2014-2016 Ebola outbreak was caused by the Zaire strain, this year's Ebola outbreak is due to the Bundibugyo strain. The Zaire strain has a kill rate of 60-90%. The Bundibugyo strain has a kill rate of 30-50%. Another reason that makes any of the Ebola strains difficult to contain is because there is no known vaccination against any of the strains. It should be understood that the main route of transmission of Ebola is due to the swapping of body fluid with the most common body fluid being sweat.