Nov 5 (Reuters) – A British doctor who tested positive for Ebola while working on the epidemic in the Democratic Republic of Congo returned to Britain on Thursday, with health authorities saying the risk of the deadly disease spreading to the wider public remains low.
It is the first case involving a British national linked to the current outbreak, although several other people from elsewhere in Europe have been infected. Imported cases are rare, with a handful of confirmed cases recorded in Britain since 1976.
Authorities have said they do not expect the case to have a serious public health impact in Britain and anticipate no disruption to international travel or trade.
The patient, whose identity was not disclosed, is being treated in a high-level isolation unit at the Royal Free Hospital in London, staffed by specialist clinical teams and designed to prevent contact between the patient and the public, the government said.
Renu Bindra, deputy director for All Hazards Public Health Response at the UK Health Security Agency, said the agency and the National Health Service had established infection-prevention and control protocols to limit the risk of onward transmission.
“The risk to the wider public remains low,” Bindra said.
Ebola is a severe viral disease spread through direct contact with an infected person’s bodily fluids. The World Health Organization says the disease is fatal in about half of cases on average, though mortality rates vary between outbreaks.
The current outbreak in Congo is the second-largest on record, with more than 10,000 confirmed cases and over 5,000 deaths reported.
(Reporting by Mrinmay Dey in Mexico City; Editing by Chris Reese and Rosalba O’Brien)
