A British nurse who contracted the Ebola virus in Sierra Leone arrived
in London by military plane on Sunday, BBC news reported.
The patient, who is not "seriously unwell" according to the Department
of Health, is to be treated at an isolation unit at a London hospital.
A spokesman for Sierra Leone's Ministry of Health, Yahya Tunis, said
the man was a volunteer nurse working in Kenema in eastern Sierra
Leone, one of the areas hardest hit by Ebola which has now been
quarantined.
"His colleagues are very sad over the development as he is considered
as a valued member," Tunis said, adding that he was involved in
"surveillance, contact tracing and the burial of Ebola victims".
The Briton is the first person from the country to have contracted the
virus in an outbreak that has killed at least 1,427 people in West
Africa since March.
The Department of Health said the victim was evacuated in a specially
equipped C17 Royal Air Force military plane to RAF Northolt outside
London.
The victim was to be taken in a special military ambulance to
Britain's only specialist Ebola isolation unit at the Royal Free
Hospital in London.
England's deputy chief medical officer Professor John Watson insisted
that the risk of the virus being spread in Britain remained "very
low".
"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," he added.
Ebola spreads through direct contact with the blood or bodily fluids
of an infected person.
The Ebola epidemic has spread through Liberia, Guinea and Sierra
Leone, while Nigeria has also been affected. It is the worst-ever
outbreak of the killer virus.
The World Health Organization (WHO) has warned it could take several
months to bring the epidemic under control.
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