A British national who contracted Ebola in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DR Congo) has been evacuated to the United Kingdom for treatment.
The unnamed man, who works in the health sector, arrived at the Royal Air Force (RAF) Northolt military airbase on Thursday before being transferred to the specialist infectious diseases unit at the Royal Free Hospital in north London.
He is the first British national confirmed to have contracted Ebola during the latest outbreak in DR Congo, which has killed more than 5,000 people.
A UK government spokesperson said established procedures were in place to care for patients with the disease and that the risk to the general public remained low.
The Royal Free Hospital previously treated three healthcare workers who contracted Ebola during the 2014–2015 outbreak in West Africa. All three recovered.
Before the latest case, four people had been confirmed to have contracted Ebola in the UK. One was infected following a laboratory accident in 1976, while the other three contracted the disease while working to control the outbreak in West Africa. None of the four died.
Since the outbreak began in DR Congo in May, more than 10,000 cases have been confirmed. It is the second-deadliest Ebola outbreak on record, after the one that devastated West Africa in the 2010s. By the end of last month, the case fatality rate stood at 48.6%.
Ebola is a severe disease that can cause serious illness and death. Symptoms include vomiting and diarrhoea, and the disease can progress to organ failure and internal bleeding. It spreads through direct contact with the bodily fluids of an infected person, including blood and vomit.
The current outbreak is caused by the Bundibugyo strain of the Ebola virus. There is currently no approved vaccine for this strain, but the World Health Organization (WHO) said experts had recommended adding two vaccine candidates to ongoing trials.
The University of Oxford developed one vaccine in partnership with India’s Serum Institute, while Moderna is developing the other. The trials will begin once DR Congo’s health authorities approve the vaccines.
This would be the first time vaccines specifically targeting the Bundibugyo strain are tested during an ongoing outbreak.
Since the outbreak began, Ebola cases have also been reported in Kenya, Nigeria, and Uganda.
KIGALI TIMES