Health

UK Doctor Returns from Congo to Receive Ebola Treatment in London

By Today News Hours Editorial Desk

A British doctor who tested positive for Ebola in the Democratic Republic of Congo has been flown back to the UK. The unidentified man landed at RAF Northolt and was then transported to a specialist infectious diseases unit at the Royal Free Hospital in north London. This is the first confirmed case of a UK national contracting Ebola during the current outbreak in DR Congo, which has so far caused more than 5,000 deaths.

Dr Renu Bindra, deputy director of the All Hazards Public Health Response team at the UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA), said that well‑established procedures are in place for dealing with such cases and that the risk to the public remains low.

The doctor was brought to the UK on a medical evacuation flight as part of a joint effort by the UK and DR Congo governments and international health partners, according to the Department of Health (DoH). A convoy of emergency vehicles, including three large police vans, two ambulances and a support car, was on hand to complete the transfer after the man arrived at the RAF base. Traffic was stopped and police exited the vans to keep the public away as the convoy arrived at the Royal Free Hospital.

The man is now being treated in a highly specialised isolation unit at the hospital. The Royal Free has previously treated three health workers who were evacuated after the Ebola outbreak in West Africa in 2014 and 2015.

Since the outbreak in DR Congo began in May, there have been more than 10,000 confirmed cases worldwide, making it the second deadliest recorded outbreak after the West African outbreak of the 2010s. The current outbreak, driven by the Bundibugyo variant, has a reported fatality rate of 48.6% as of the end of last month.

Ebola can cause serious illness and death, with early symptoms including vomiting and diarrhoea that can progress to organ failure and internal bleeding. The virus spreads through contact with infected bodily fluids such as blood or vomit.

There is no approved vaccine for the Bundibugyo variant, but the World Health Organization has recommended adding two new candidate drugs to an ongoing clinical trial. Vaccines developed by the University of Oxford and the Serum Institute of India, and by Moderna, will join the trial once approved by Congolese health authorities. This will be the first time vaccines specifically designed to protect against the Bundibugyo virus are tested during an outbreak.

Since the outbreak began, Ebola cases have also been confirmed in Kenya, Nigeria and Uganda.