In a developing health situation, a London hospital is closely observing a humanitarian worker suspected to have been exposed to the Ebola virus in the Democratic Republic of Congo, according to reports from the UK Health Security Agency.
The individual, a British citizen, was in the African nation as part of a humanitarian mission and is believed to have potentially encountered the virus during his time there.
As a safety measure, the worker was flown back to the UK on a special chartered flight and is currently under the care of medical experts in a London medical facility.
Fortunately, he is not experiencing any symptoms and remains in good health at this time.
It’s noteworthy that the UK has not seen any Ebola cases since 2015, when three medical professionals transported the infection back from their missions in Africa.
Richard Pebody, Director, Epidemic & Emerging Infections at UKHSA, said: ‘The risk to the general public remains low.
‘This individual has been transferred out of an abundance of caution, and we’re pleased they remain well.’
The incubation period of Ebola ranges from two to 21 days and the individual will be required to isolate for that period.
A hygienist is pictured cleaning and disinfecting at an Ebola Treatment Centre this week in DR Congo
DR Congo has been grappling with an Ebola outbreak for weeks which is spreading ‘substantially faster’ than those which have come before.
The disease has so far claimed 930 lives, the country’s health ministry said, after 2,344 cases were reported last Saturday.
The outbreak was first declared in an eastern region of the country on May 15 and has since become the fastest-growing Ebola epidemic on record.
There have reportedly so far been 20 confirmed cases outside of DR Congo causing two deaths, one in Uganda and the other in France.
The Democratic Republic’s Ministry of Health said on Monday: ‘Patient care and support capacities are consolidating, with 22 new recoveries recorded in 24 hours.’
Only last month it was feared that a patient at a Scottish hospital had contracted the deadly disease.
Part of the Queen Elizabeth University Hospital in Glasgow was sealed off in late June when a person presented at its Acute Receiving Unit.
The patient had reportedly arrived back in the city after visiting an Ebola-affected country, and sought medical attention after they developed worrying symptoms. The person, however, ultimately tested negative.
Ebola is transmitted through direct contact with blood or bodily fluids of symptomatic individuals or contaminated objects.
The outbreak in Congo was caused by the Bundibugyo virus, an unfamiliar disease which killed an estimated 30 per cent of the people it infected during two previous outbreaks in 2007 and 2012.
There is currently no vaccine to combat the strain which is spreading across DR Congo, though scientists at the University of Oxford are working on a jab.
They are currently assessing how safe their vaccine is and volunteers are being recruited for a trial which is slated to begin within weeks.
Dr Katrina Pollock, chief investigator of the trial, told the BBC: ‘We’re doing phase one (early stage) trials of new vaccines all of the time, precisely to be ready for exactly this kind of outbreak.’
The Bundibugyo strain is not new, but it is rare. It was first recorded in 2007 and takes its name from the area of western Uganda, where it was first spotted.
It arose for a second time in the DRC in 2012. But both outbreaks were limited in size – with just over 200 cases and around 66 deaths.
The virus is thought to spread through direct contact with the blood or bodily fluids of a person who is sick or has died from Ebola, or through contact with contaminated surfaces.
Patients can carry the virus for up to 21 days before symptoms begin, which is when experts believe they become infectious.