A British healthcare worker who tested positive for Ebola in the Democratic Republic of Congo is to be medically evacuated to the United Kingdom for specialist treatment, the BBC, The Guardian and Associated Press reported.
It is the first confirmed case of a UK national contracting Ebola in the current Congolese outbreak, which has caused more than 5,000 deaths and more than 10,000 confirmed cases since May, becoming the deadliest Ebola outbreak in the country’s history.
A UK government spokesperson said “well-established procedures” had been activated and that the risk to the British public remains low. Imported Ebola cases are rare in the UK; previous confirmed cases involved a 1976 lab incident and three health workers from the 2014–15 West Africa outbreak.
The ongoing outbreak is driven by the Bundibugyo variant. There is no approved vaccine for that strain, though the World Health Organization has recommended adding candidate vaccines from Oxford/Serum Institute of India and Moderna to an ongoing trial once Congolese authorities approve them.
Cases linked to the outbreak have also been confirmed in Kenya, Nigeria and Uganda. Timing of the evacuation flight was not immediately clear.
BBC News, The Guardian, Associated Press
—
Early Ebola symptoms include vomiting and diarrhoea and can progress to organ failure and bleeding; the virus spreads through infected bodily fluids. Congolese health authorities must still clear the candidate vaccines before they join the outbreak trial, the WHO said.
Reuters, citing an internal document, identified the patient as a healthcare worker; the BBC said it had not seen that document. Timing of the evacuation flight had not been announced.
Sources: BBC News, The Guardian, Associated Press
—
