France detects first Ebola case outside Africa in current outbreak

AIR FRANCE FLIGHT

The doctor’s condition “slightly deteriorated during the flight”, after which the patient was immediately isolated and taken into care upon landing in Paris, even before the disease was officially identified, the ministry added.

The patient was in a “stable condition” with a “very low” viral load, the ministry added.

The doctor travelled on an Air France flight, the airline said, adding that it had provided the passenger list to the authorities.

“Contact with these passengers is being handled by the health authorities,” Air France said.

Prime Minister Sebastien Lecornu’s office said he was monitoring the situation “very closely”, but the health ministry stressed that the risk of transmission remained low.

The World Health Organisation chief, Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, said Wednesday the global risk “remains low”.

ALIMA (The Alliance for International Medical Action), an international medical humanitarian organisation, said the patient was one of its doctors.

The group said it was seeking to “understand how the contamination could have occurred”.

Humanitarian workers are normally required to undergo a three-week quarantine after contact with infected cases.

According to diplomatic sources, meetings will be held later Wednesday to discuss an appropriate course of action, particularly regarding movement restrictions.