According to the French official, the doctor, infected during a humanitarian mission in the Democratic Republic of Congo, was declared cured after two PCR tests with negative results.

The patient arrived in France on June 23, presenting only headaches and being almost asymptomatic. After confirming the diagnosis, he was admitted to a specialized medical unit and monitored in accordance with health protocols. The French authorities have identified five passengers of the flight as potential contacts, who have been placed in isolation as a precautionary measure.

The Ebola virus triggers severe reactions and can lead to hemorrhagic fever and multiple organ failure in serious cases. According to the latest data, the epidemic in the Democratic Republic of Congo, which broke out in May, has so far resulted in 438 deaths and over 1,400 infections. Since there is no standard treatment for the detected strain, called Bundibugyo, specialists are now conducting clinical studies based on three experimental vaccines.

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The French Ministry of Health specifies that the doctor, who was active in an international medical NGO, was urgently taken to a specialized medical unit. He left from the capital of the Democratic Republic of Congo, Kinshasa, being almost asymptomatic, with slight headaches, but his condition slightly worsened during the flight to France.

According to the cited source, immediately after landing in Paris, the patient was transferred under maximum safety conditions, to prevent any risk of contamination. Health authorities emphasize that the doctor has a “very low” viral load, which reduces the risk of transmission, however, the people he came into contact with are being identified to be placed in preventive isolation for 21 days.

According to the World Health Organization data, the Bundibugyo strain, which is circulating in the Democratic Republic of Congo and has also spread to Uganda, has recorded over a thousand confirmed cases and approximately 270 deaths.

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WHO technical expert on haemorrhagic fevers Anaïs Legand said the patient is the first person admitted to a treatment centre to have been discharged after obtaining two consecutive negative tests. According to her, the recovery shows that the chances of survival increase considerably when patients receive prompt medical care.

WHO announced that since the outbreak began, 125 confirmed cases and more than 900 suspected cases have been recorded. At the same time, health authorities have reported 17 confirmed deaths and another 223 deaths suspected of being linked to the disease.

Specialists say the current outbreak is caused by the Bundibugyo strain of the Ebola virus, for which there is currently no specific vaccine or treatment. According to WHO, this variant can have a mortality rate of up to 50%, but in the current outbreak the estimated rate is around 25%.

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The Ministry of Health reported that the victim toll includes both confirmed and suspected cases of measles. The total number of illnesses has risen rapidly, exceeding 60 thousand suspected cases in just eight weeks. Due to the severity of the situation, health authorities have decided to cancel the leave for doctors and nurses, to ensure the continuity of care.

The epidemic is fueled by delays in vaccine procurement. UNICEF announced that, despite numerous warnings issued, the interim Government changed procurement procedures, which led to supply disruptions. Experts warn that the massive migration during the Muslim holiday of Eid, could trigger a new epidemic wave through contact between carrier children and those not immunized. Even so, the health minister dismissed declaring a state of emergency, stating that district authorities are prepared to handle the situation.

Measles is a contagious viral disease, which is transmitted through coughing and sneezing. It manifests itself through symptoms such as high fever, skin rashes and lesions in the mouth, being particularly dangerous for unvaccinated children under five years old. The main method of prevention is vaccination, a process that helps form antibodies within a three to four week interval and provides protection against severe forms of the disease that can be fatal.

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Due to strict biosecurity measures, authorities have blocked relatives’ access, and altercations have escalated. As a result of the attack, two tents and a corpse were set on fire. Also, a medical staff member was injured, and law enforcement had to fire warning shots. In the ensuing chaos, six patients fled the hospital, but were quickly recovered.

Because corpses are extremely contagious, the World Health Organization has instituted strict rules for funerals, with the aim of preventing the spread of the virus. The medical staff at the field hospital has been placed under military protection following the violence.

In the meantime, the death toll of the epidemic has exceeded 170, and the absence of a vaccine for the current strain of the virus exacerbates the crisis.

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Virologists are already working on two possible vaccines, but it will take some time until the commencement of clinical trials. The WHO Director, Tedros Ghebreysus, stated that the official pandemic toll could be much higher, as the tests for detecting the virus are time-consuming. The most severe situation is recorded in Congo, where the highest number of deaths have occurred. Some of the deceased are medical staff, which raises concerns about the adherence to health regulations.

Doctors from Congo say that some hospitals are overwhelmed by the situation and that, although batches of protective equipment have begun to arrive in the country, there are no stocks of masks, gloves or coveralls in rural areas. Representatives of the Doctors Without Borders organization have stated that some hospitals are full of suspected cases and that they no longer have available spots.

The World Health Organization declared the Ebola outbreak a public health emergency of international concern on Sunday, but said it was not a pandemic. The organization’s director-general stressed that the risk of the outbreak spreading nationally and regionally was high, but that global spread was unlikely.

The virus that causes Ebola or hemorrhagic fever is transmitted through direct contact and body fluids and has a mortality rate of over 50%. Although there is a vaccine for 2 variants of the virus, for the strain recently detected in Congo there is currently neither treatment nor vaccine.

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This is the 17th Ebola epidemic identified in Congo from 1976 to the present, the current outbreak being considered atypical and dangerous. Most of the previous epidemics were caused by the Zaire strain, for which there are medical treatments, but for the current Bundibugyo strain there are no drugs.

Until Saturday, 246 suspected cases and 8 confirmed cases out of 13 samples tested in the laboratory were reported in the Ituri province of Congo. WHO warns that the actual number of victims could be much higher, considering the high positivity rate of the initial samples. Furthermore, the virus has been confirmed in two cases, including one death in the capital of Uganda, Kampala, in people who came from Congo.

The WHO recommends neighboring countries to activate emergency mechanisms and monitor borders, avoiding total closure in order to prevent illegal crossings. Control measures focus on the immediate isolation of the sick, daily monitoring of contacts for 21 days and banning international travel for exposed individuals, with the exception of official medical evacuations.

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Another 3 passengers who disembarked from the ship at the previous stopover are now in the United States and are being monitored. The World Health Organization has confirmed that another passenger who returned to Switzerland has tested positive and is hospitalized in a hospital in Zurich. The cruise ship, which still has 146 tourists from 23 countries on board, has left the Republic of Cape Verde and is heading towards the Canary Islands.

The WHO has stated that so far 8 cases have been identified, of which 3 are confirmed and 5 are suspected. Hantavirus is transmitted from rodents, but the analyses performed have shown that the infected passengers carry a deadly strain of hantavirus that is transmitted from person to person and is particularly found in South American countries.

The Hondius ship departed from Argentina on April 1st, then made a stopover on Saint Helena Island and headed towards the Republic of Cape Verde. On April 11th, a man died on board, and his ill wife was evacuated on April 24th to South Africa, where she passed away. On April 27th, another sick passenger was evacuated and taken to the hospital, and on May 2nd, another one died on board the ship.

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