A British doctor who tested positive for Ebola while working in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) has been brought back to the UK for specialist treatment, the Department of Health and Social Care has confirmed.
The doctor is receiving care in an isolation unit at the Royal Free Hospital in London. The UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA) has said the risk to the wider public remains low.
Repatriation and outbreak context
The doctor was repatriated to the UK via a medical evacuation flight, in a collaborative effort between the UK and DRC governments alongside their international health partners. They are believed to have been working to tackle an Ebola outbreak in the DRC, central Africa, which figures published on the UN website show has resulted in more than 5,100 deaths.
Ebola carries a high fatality rate, with previous outbreaks proving fatal in 25%-90% of those infected. Those who contract the disease typically become ill between two and 21 days after exposure to an orthoebolavirus. Initial symptoms include fever, aches, pains and fatigue, which can subsequently deteriorate into diarrhoea, vomiting and unexplained bleeding.
Previously, only four confirmed cases of the virus have been recorded in the UK – one in 1976, resulting from a laboratory needle accident, and three involving healthcare workers responding to an outbreak in west Africa between 2014 and 2015.
Hospital isolation measures
The Royal Free Hospital operates a high-level isolation unit staffed by a dedicated team of doctors, nurses and laboratory professionals. The unit has previously treated adult patients suffering from Lassa fever, Ebola and Crimean Congo haemorrhagic fever. Entry to the unit is strictly limited, and it features a specialist tent with controlled ventilation that still permits care to be delivered by NHS staff. All air leaving the unit is thoroughly filtered, ensuring there is no risk to anyone inside or outside the hospital.
Dr Renu Bindra, deputy director of the All Hazards Public Health Response team at the 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."
Expert reassurance on transmission
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 front line 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, which 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.
