A British humanitarian worker is being observed at a specialist London hospital following a potential healthcare-related exposure to the Ebola virus while supporting the outbreak response in the Democratic Republic of the Congo. The individual was medically evacuated as a precaution and is not displaying any symptoms. Officials say the risk to the general public remains low and there are no confirmed UK cases.
The Bundibugyo species of Ebola driving the current outbreak has no approved vaccine or specific treatment. The WHO declared the emergency in May after outbreaks emerged in the DRC and Uganda. As of mid-July, the DRC had recorded 2,423 confirmed cases and 967 deaths, with Uganda reporting 20 cases and two deaths. WHO head Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus has described it as the third-worst outbreak on record.
The Ebola incubation period ranges from two to 21 days. Last month, a suspected case at a Glasgow hospital tested negative.