British doctor with Ebola evacuated from DR Congo to London hospital
A British doctor who contracted Ebola while helping a humanitarian organisation respond to an outbreak in the Democratic Republic of the Congo has been evacuated to the UK for specialist treatment. The patient, whose identity has not been released, arrived on a medical evacuation flight and is being treated in the high-level isolation unit at the Royal Free hospital in Hampstead, north London. This is the first case involving a British national in the current outbreak.
UK health officials said the risk to the wider public remains low. The Royal Free’s isolation unit uses strict infection-control procedures to prevent contact between the patient and the public, while staff treating the doctor are equipped with appropriate personal protective equipment. Dr Renu Bindra, the UK Health Security Agency’s deputy director for all-hazards public health response, said the UKHSA and NHS have established protocols to limit onward transmission.
Ebola spreads through direct contact with infected bodily fluids, including blood or vomit, or with the bodies of people who have died from the disease. The outbreak, declared by the DRC’s health ministry in May, is the second largest on record, with more than 10,000 cases and 5,000 deaths. It has also spread to Kenya and Uganda, while Nigeria confirmed a case in Abuja last month. Symptoms can appear between two and 21 days after exposure and may progress from fever, aches and fatigue to diarrhoea, vomiting and unexplained bleeding. Four Ebola cases had previously been confirmed in the UK.
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