A British doctor who contracted Ebola while treating patients in Congo has returned to the UK for treatment, with officials saying the risk of the disease spreading to the wider public remains low.
The British Department of Health and Social Care (DHSC) said in a Nov. 5 statement that the patient, whose personal details were not disclosed, is being cared for in a high-level isolation unit at the Royal Free Hospital in London, which the government said is specialized and designed for this purpose.
British authorities worked with the government in Congo to bring the patient home safely, the DHSC said. The transfer followed appropriate infection-prevention protocols, along with all other measures involved in bringing the patient home.
Dr. Renu Bindra, the deputy director of the All Hazards Public Health Response unit at the UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA), said that the UKHSA and National Health Service “have well-established and robust infection prevention and control protocols to limit the risk of onward transmission, and the risk to the wider public remains low.”
The DHSC said that the Royal Free Hospital’s isolation unit operates under strict protocols that prevent the patient from coming into contact with other members of the public. All staff treating the patient are using the necessary equipment and methods to prevent transmission.
It’s the first case involving a British citizen linked to the current outbreak, although several others in Europe have been infected. Cases of Ebola being brought into the UK are rare, with only a few confirmed cases recorded in Britain since 1976.
The Royal Free Hospital said in a statement that its high-level isolation unit is specially designed to treat these patients and is staffed by medics trained in this field.
“We are a specialist center for treating patients with viral infections such as Ebola,” Dr. Jake Dunning, consultant in infectious diseases and lead for the unit, said.
“Our high-level isolation unit is run by an expert team of doctors, nurses, therapists and laboratory staff and is designed to ensure we can safely treat patients with infections of this kind.”
The current outbreak is caused by the rare Bundibugyo ebolavirus and was detected in mid-May in Congo, which has dealt with more than a dozen Ebola outbreaks in the past.
More Than 10,000 Cases
According to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, people can contract Ebola if broken skin or mucous membranes in the eyes, nose, or mouth come in contact with the bodily fluids of an infected person or contaminated objects.
Ebola does not spread through the air like respiratory viruses such as influenza; a person cannot become infected by being near someone with the disease.
Congo’s National Institute of Public Health said in a Nov. 6 statement that there are 10,741 confirmed cases and that there have been 5,230 deaths as a result of the current Ebola outbreak—a lethality rate of 48.7 percent.
It has become the deadliest outbreak in Congo’s history after surpassing the 2018–2020 epidemic, in which 2,299 people died.
Other cases were confirmed in Nigeria and Kenya last month.
On Nov. 3, Kenyan health authorities said they discharged five Ebola patients from hospital after laboratory tests confirmed they had received the all-clear. Kenya’s two remaining Ebola patients are still receiving treatment in Nairobi hospitals.
The ministry said that Kenya had nine reported cases so far, with two fatalities. No new infections have been recorded since Oct. 19.
Across Africa, this epidemic is now second only to the 2014–2016 West African outbreak, which infected at least 28,600 people and killed more than 11,000 across Guinea, Liberia, and Sierra Leone.
Reuters contributed to this report.
