UK medic infected with Ebola in DR Congo flown to London for treatment
- A British health worker who caught Ebola in DR Congo is now at a London hospital.
- The UK government says the medic is in a specialist isolation unit and the public risk is low.
- Africa's current outbreak has killed more than 5,300 people, mostly in DR Congo.
A British medic who tested positive for Ebola while working in the Democratic Republic of Congo has been brought back to the United Kingdom for care, the UK government said on Thursday.
The patient, whose name was not released, is being treated at the Royal Free Hospital in London. The hospital has a high-level isolation unit built for cases like this, and the government said strict measures are in place to keep the patient away from the general public.
Renu Bindra, deputy director of the all hazards public health response team at the UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA), said the danger to the wider public is still low.
According to the continent's top health agency, Africa's latest Ebola outbreak has killed more than 5,300 people, with the great majority of those deaths in DR Congo.
Why this matters in Nigeria
Ebola spreads through direct contact with the blood or body fluids of someone who is sick, or with contaminated surfaces and materials. It does not travel through the air like flu. That is why health workers on the front line are among those most at risk, and why isolation units and protective gear matter so much.
Nigeria has had its own recent scare. Last month, the country reported an Ebola case involving a 42-year-old Swiss woman whose husband works at an embassy. She was flown to Geneva for treatment.
For ordinary Nigerians, the practical advice from health experts remains the same: wash your hands often, avoid touching anyone showing symptoms such as fever, vomiting or unexplained bleeding, and report suspected cases to health authorities quickly rather than treating them at home.
What happens next
The UK medic is being treated in the isolation unit at the Royal Free Hospital. In DR Congo, health teams are still working to contain the outbreak.
Nigerian travellers do not need to change plans based on this single case, but anyone returning from an affected area with fever should tell health workers at the airport and seek testing early.
