A UK doctor who tested positive for Ebola while working on the outbreak in the Democratic Republic of the Congo has been evacuated to London for specialist care, with officials saying public risk remains low.
The Department of Health and Social Care said in a Nov. 5 release that the UK government worked with DRC authorities and international health partners to carry out the medical evacuation flight. Infection-prevention measures applied during the journey and extend to everyone involved in the doctor’s care, the department said.
The doctor is receiving treatment in the specialist isolation unit at Royal Free Hospital in London. The department said clinical teams are caring for the patient under safeguards designed to prevent contact with members of the public.
Dr. Renu Bindra, deputy director of All Hazards Public Health Response at the UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA), said UKHSA and the National Health Service (NHS) have robust protocols to limit onward transmission. She said the risk to the wider public remains low.
Bindra said Ebola spreads through contact with bodily fluids from a person who has symptoms, rather than through the air. The department said staff caring for the doctor are equipped with protective gear and additional safeguards.
