A British medical worker who contracted Ebola while participating in efforts to contain an outbreak in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DR Congo) has been evacuated to the United Kingdom for specialised medical care.
The UK government confirmed the development on Thursday, stating that the unnamed healthcare worker had tested positive for the virus before being flown back to the country.
The patient is currently receiving treatment at the Royal Free Hospital in London, which operates a high-level isolation unit designed to manage highly infectious diseases.
According to the government, the facility has specialised medical equipment and strict infection-control procedures to prevent any contact between the patient and members of the public.
Renu Bindra, Deputy Director of the All Hazards Public Health Response Team at the UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA), said the likelihood of the infection spreading to the wider public remained low.
The development comes amid a major Ebola outbreak in Africa, which has claimed more than 5,300 lives, with the Democratic Republic of the Congo accounting for the overwhelming majority of the deaths, according to the continent's leading public health agency.
Meanwhile, Nigeria reported an Ebola case last month involving a 42-year-old Swiss woman whose husband works at the Swiss Embassy in the country.
The woman was subsequently evacuated to Geneva, Switzerland, for medical treatment.
