British doctor with Ebola evacuated from DR Congo to London hospital
The unnamed patient is being treated in a high-level isolation unit at the Royal Free hospital in north London, health officials say.
At a glance
- A British doctor who caught Ebola while working in DR Congo has been evacuated to the UK for treatment.
- The patient is being cared for in a high-level isolation unit at the Royal Free hospital in north London.
- The outbreak, declared in May, has passed 10,000 cases and 5,000 deaths and has spread to Kenya, Uganda and Nigeria.
A British doctor who caught Ebola while working in the Democratic Republic of the Congo has been brought back to the UK for specialist treatment. The patient, who has not been identified, arrived on a medical evacuation flight, the Department of Health and Social Care said on Thursday, and is now being cared for in a specialised high-level isolation unit at the Royal Free hospital in Hampstead, north London.
Risk to the public 'remains low'
Dr Renu Bindra, deputy director for all-hazards public health response at the UK Health Security Agency, said UKHSA and the NHS had well-established infection prevention and control measures in place to limit the chance of the virus spreading further. The risk to the wider public remained low, she said.
The Royal Free's isolation unit operates strict protocols to keep the patient away from members of the public. Staff treating the patient are equipped with personal protective equipment alongside other measures to prevent transmission.
First British case in the current outbreak
The doctor was sent to DR Congo by a humanitarian organisation to help with the response to the outbreak, which is the second largest on record. It is the first case in the current outbreak involving a British national.
Ebola is a severe and often fatal illness spread through direct contact with the body fluids of infected people, such as blood or vomit, or with dead bodies. People usually fall ill between two and 21 days after contact with an orthoebolavirus. Early symptoms include fever, aches, pains and fatigue, and can progress to diarrhoea, vomiting and unexplained bleeding.
The outbreak's toll
The current outbreak was declared in May by DR Congo's health ministry. It has surpassed 10,000 cases and 5,000 deaths, and has spread to Kenya and Uganda in east Africa. Last month Nigeria confirmed a case in its capital, Abuja.
Only four cases of the virus have previously been confirmed in the UK. A case in 1976 resulted from a laboratory needle incident, and the three others involved health workers responding to the outbreak in West Africa between 2014 and 2015.
Source: The Guardian World.
Questions and answers
- Where is the British Ebola patient being treated?
- At the Royal Free hospital in Hampstead, north London, in a specialised high-level isolation unit, after being flown home on a medical evacuation flight.
- How does Ebola spread and what are the symptoms?
- It spreads through direct contact with the body fluids of infected people, such as blood or vomit, or with dead bodies. Symptoms usually begin two to 21 days after exposure.
- How serious is the current Ebola outbreak?
- DR Congo's health ministry declared it in May and it has surpassed 10,000 cases and 5,000 deaths, making it the second largest outbreak on record.
