A British national who tested positive for Ebola in Sierra Leone is being
evacuated to the UK on a Royal Air Force jet, the Department of Health has
said.
He will be taken to the Royal Free Hospital in London.
It is the first confirmed case of a Briton contracting the deadly virus, for
which there is no cure, during the recent outbreak.
A spokesman for the Department of Health said: " The patient is not
currently seriously unwell and is being medically evacuated in a specially
equipped C17 Royal Air Force plane to RAF Northolt in the UK.
"Upon arrival in the UK the patient will be transported to an isolation
unit at the Royal Free London NHS Foundation Trust."
The patient is a healthcare worker who was living in the west African
country.
Professor John Watson, deputy chief medical officer, said: " It is
important to be reassured that although a case of Ebola in a British national
healthcare worker residing in Sierra Leone has been identified and is being
brought back to the UK the overall risk to the public in the UK remains very
low.
"We have robust, well-developed and well-tested NHS systems for
managing unusual infectious diseases when they arise, supported by a wide range
of experts.
"UK hospitals have a proven record of dealing with imported infectious
diseases and this patient will be isolated and will receive the best care
possible."
Dr Paul Cosford, director for health protection at Public Health England,
said: " The patient is being transferred to the Royal Free Hospital for
appropriate treatment in an isolation unit, with all appropriate protocols
promptly activated by the Department of Health, PHE and NHS England.
"Protective measures will be strictly maintained to minimise the risk
of transmission to staff transporting the patient to the UK and healthcare
workers treating the individual.
"For Ebola to be transmitted from one person to another contact with
blood or other body fluids is needed and as such, the risk to the general
population remains very low."
Dr Bob Winter, national clinical director for emergency preparedness and
critical care for NHS England, said: " NHS England, together with PHE, the
Department of Health and other key stakeholders has been working hard over the
past few weeks to ensure any patient who contracts Ebola and needs to be
repatriated to the UK receives the best possible care and treatment. The NHS
has a special unit at the Royal Free in London which is well prepared to
receive this patient."
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