A British doctor who tested positive for Ebola in the Democratic Republic of the Congo has been flown back to the UK for specialist treatment at the Royal Free Hospital in London, the Department of Health & Social Care has confirmed.
The man, believed to be a healthcare worker who became infected while working in the DRC, is now receiving care at the Royal Free, one of only two hospitals in the country equipped to deal with Ebola.
Government Response and Public Risk
A Government spokesperson said: “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.”
Ebola has a high fatality rate, with past outbreaks causing death in 25-90% of infected people. Strict protocols are in place to protect healthcare workers and prevent onward transmission.
Details of the Case and Outbreak
People with the disease tend to fall ill two to 21 days after contact with an orthoebolavirus. Early symptoms include fever, aches, pains, and fatigue, but they can then progress to diarrhoea, vomiting and unexplained bleeding.
There have only been four confirmed cases of the virus in the UK previously – one, in 1976, resulting from a laboratory needle incident, and three involving health workers who were responding to an outbreak in West Africa between 2014 and 2015.
The new case is the first involving a British national contracting Ebola linked to the ongoing outbreak centred on the DRC caused by Bundibugyo virus. So far, the outbreak has led to more than 5,000 deaths.
Hospital Facilities and Expert Views
The Royal Free Hospital London is one of only two hospitals equipped to deal with Ebola. The other is the Royal Victoria in Newcastle. The Royal Free has a high-level isolation unit run by a dedicated team of doctors, nurses, and laboratory staff.
The team has previously treated adult patients with Lassa fever, Ebola and Crimean Congo haemorrhagic fever. 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.
Professor Emma Thomson, director of the MRC-University of Glasgow Centre for Virus Research, said: “The UK is extremely well prepared to care for patients with Ebola. Although Bundibugyo virus, the cause of the current outbreak, can cause severe disease and is highly infectious through direct contact with infected bodily fluids, the Royal Free has state-of-the-art isolation facilities and highly experienced clinical teams. Strict protocols are in place to protect healthcare workers and prevent onward transmission. The risk to the wider UK public is extremely low.”
Dr Damien Tully, an expert in infectious disease from the London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine, said: “The infection of a British healthcare worker with Ebola is deeply concerning, but it is not entirely unexpected. Healthcare workers are on the frontline of these outbreaks, often treating severely ill patients under extremely challenging conditions. Even with rigorous protective measures, accidental exposures can occur. This case is a stark reminder of the risks faced by those responding to the outbreak of Ebola disease caused by Bundibugyo virus in the DRC. However, it does not suggest that the virus has become more transmissible or that the threat to the UK has increased. Unlike respiratory viruses such as Covid-19 and influenza, that can spread through the air, Ebola is transmitted primarily through direct contact with infected bodily fluids, and people are not generally infectious until they develop symptoms. This means that identifying and isolating cases, together with appropriate infection prevention measures, can be highly effective in preventing onward transmission. For the UK public, the risk from this planned medical evacuation is extremely low.”
