A humanitarian worker is being monitored at a specialist hospital in London after a potential exposure to the Ebola virus. The British national was medically evacuated from the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), where an outbreak is ongoing, after treating Ebola patients, according to the UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA).
UKHSA described the evacuation as a “very high-level precautionary measure,” stressing: “The individual currently has no symptoms and remains well, but as a precaution, they were evacuated on a chartered flight arranged for this purpose.” The person is being assessed and monitored by infectious disease specialists in an isolation unit at a London hospital.
UKHSA noted that Ebola’s incubation period ranges from 2 to 21 days and that the individual will be closely monitored and remain in isolation throughout this period. No Ebola cases have been confirmed in the UK, and the risk to the public remains low.
Richard Pebody, director of epidemic and emerging infections at UKHSA, said: “This individual has been transferred for precautionary reasons, and we are pleased they remain well.”
Last month, a patient suspected of having Ebola at a Glasgow hospital tested negative for the virus. Precautionary steps were also taken after a patient was admitted to Queen Elizabeth University Hospital.
The outbreak in the DRC and Uganda in May was declared a Public Health Emergency of International Concern by the World Health Organization (WHO). The virus spreads from wild animals to humans and then within communities through direct contact with blood, secretions, organs, or other bodily fluids of infected people, as well as through contaminated surfaces and materials such as bedding or clothing.
According to WHO, symptoms can include fever, fatigue, malaise, muscle pain, headache, and sore throat, followed by vomiting, diarrhea, abdominal pain, rash, and signs of impaired kidney and liver function.
