A British doctor who tested positive for Ebola in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) has been flown back to the UK for specialist treatment at a hospital in London, the Department of Health and Social Care (DHSC) has said.
The doctor is being cared for in an isolation unit at the Royal Free Hospital, London, according to the DHSC. The hospital's high-level isolation unit is run by a dedicated team of doctors, nurses and laboratory staff, and has previously treated adult patients with Lassa fever, Ebola and Crimean Congo haemorrhagic fever.
Ebola outbreak toll
The outbreak, which began in the DRC in May, has become the most geographically widespread Ebola outbreak in history, with more than 9,600 confirmed cases reported worldwide. Around 5,000 people have died in the ongoing outbreak of the rare but deadly disease.
Access to the unit is restricted. It includes a special tent with controlled ventilation that still allows care to be provided by NHS staff. All the air leaving the unit is cleaned so there is no risk to anyone inside or outside of the hospital.
UK response and risk assessment
The doctor was brought to the UK on a medical evacuation flight, in a joint effort between the UK and DRC governments and their international health partners.
Dr Renu Bindra, deputy director of the All Hazards Public Health Response team at the UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA), said: “UKHSA and the NHS have well-established and robust infection prevention and control protocols to limit the risk of onward transmission, and the risk to the wider public remains low.”
In a previous update issued on Wednesday (November 4), a Government spokesperson said: “A British citizen currently in the DRC has tested positive for Ebola. The UK has well-established procedures for dealing with cases like this, and those processes have been activated. Further information will be shared in due course as appropriate. The risk to the UK public from Ebola remains low.”
History and transmission
Only four cases of Ebola have ever been confirmed in the UK, including three involving health workers who responded to the outbreak in West Africa between 2014 and 2015. The UKHSA has said that imported cases of Ebola are extremely rare and that there have been no deaths from the disease in the UK.
Ebola spreads through direct contact with the bodily fluids of an infected person, including blood and vomit, or through contact with contaminated materials and surfaces, such as bedding and clothing. Early symptoms include fever, aches, pains and fatigue, but they can then progress to diarrhoea, vomiting and unexplained bleeding.
The World Health Organisation (WHO) declared the outbreak a public health emergency of international concern in May. African health ministers have also been invited to an “extraordinary virtual meeting” to discuss the spread of Ebola, which is set to take place on October 28.
The NHS has established procedures and specialist centres for managing suspected cases, should anyone arrive in the country with the infection, the UKHSA added.
