The first imported case of Ebola during the current Bundibugyo virus outbreak in Central Africa has recovered and been discharged from hospital in France, health authorities announced on Saturday. The development comes as the outbreak in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) and Uganda continues to escalate, with official tallies showing more than 1,480 infections and at least 454 deaths, according to the World Health Organization (WHO). DRC government figures, however, place the domestic toll even higher, at 1,502 cases and 473 deaths as of July 2.

The outbreak, which was declared in mid-May, is driven by the rare Bundibugyo strain of the Ebola virus, for which no approved vaccine or specific treatment exists. The disease causes haemorrhagic fever with a case fatality rate of around 30 per cent in this event. Transmission is concentrated in the eastern provinces of Ituri, North Kivu and South Kivu, where ongoing armed conflict and mass displacement have undermined health infrastructure and complicated contact tracing. Healthcare workers have been particularly affected, with 102 infections and 25 deaths among them, highlighting gaps in infection prevention even within health facilities. The WHO has classified the risk within DRC as very high, warning that overcrowded camps and insecure access to affected areas create a severe risk of undetected chains of transmission.

Internationally, the recovery of the index case in France — a doctor who had worked for an NGO in Ituri — demonstrated effective border screening and rapid isolation protocols. French health minister Stéphanie Rist confirmed the patient experienced only mild symptoms and returned home after two negative PCR tests. Contacts on the same flight from Kinshasa were traced and quarantined. Meanwhile, Russia has deployed mobile laboratories and diagnostic test systems to Uganda, where 20 cases and two deaths have been recorded, and has strengthened screening on its own borders for arrivals from affected regions. Analysts in Moscow and Paris alike stress that the global risk remains low, but the regional threat is acute.

Looking ahead, the WHO has launched a clinical trial to evaluate potential treatments for Bundibugyo virus disease, a critical step given the absence of approved countermeasures. The agency stressed that while travel restrictions are not warranted, enhanced border surveillance and community-based responses are vital. With contacts still under monitoring in three countries and the epidemic showing no sign of plateauing, health officials say the coming weeks will determine whether containment holds or the crisis deepens further.