France’s health minister, Stéphanie Rist, says the country’s first diagnosed Ebola patient has recovered and has been discharged from hospital. Multiple outlets report that the patient is a doctor who had tested positive for Ebola and was undergoing treatment in France. Rist’s statement, as cited by the outlets, indicates the doctor has left the medical establishment and returned home.
The reports add that the doctor’s Ebola diagnosis followed travel from the Democratic Republic of Congo (DR Congo). One account specifies that the doctor arrived in France after flying on June 23 and that, except for headaches, he was almost asymptomatic.
Several sources also say this is the first time French authorities have detected Ebola on French territory. One outlet notes that during the 2014 west Africa outbreak, two Ebola patients were transported to France but were diagnosed abroad.
In addition, reports state that five other passengers on the doctor’s flight were identified as possible contacts and were placed in isolation as a precaution. Sources also reference the ongoing outbreak in DR Congo and its reported case and death figures as of early July.
