France Isolates Five Suspected Ebola Contacts After Doctor Tests Positive

French health authorities have identified and isolated five people suspected of being exposed to Ebola after they were on the same flight as a doctor who tested positive for the disease. Health Minister Stephanie Rist stated on Wednesday that the patient was an experienced doctor returning from a mission in the Democratic Republic of Congo. Rist explained that the doctor did not show any symptoms while boarding the plane and was not in a contagious state, but raised the alert after developing a headache during the flight to ensure appropriate medical care upon arrival in Paris. The doctor was placed in isolation at a hospital immediately after the plane landed and will remain there for a 21-day period, in line with the disease’s incubation period. According to data from the DR Congo health authorities, the cumulative number of confirmed Ebola cases in the country has risen to 1,094. The European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control estimates the risk of contracting the disease for the general public in Europe remains very low.