British healthcare worker infected with Ebola in DR Congo to be flown home for treatment
The UK government has confirmed that a British citizen working in the Democratic Republic of the Congo has contracted Ebola and will be medically evacuated to Britain for treatment.
The UK government has confirmed that a British citizen in the Democratic Republic of the Congo has been infected with Ebola and will be medically evacuated to the United Kingdom for treatment. The patient is described in reports as a healthcare worker who contracted the virus while working in the country.
The outbreak in which the infection occurred has been described as among the deadliest ever recorded. Reports on the case have been circulating in similar wording across several outlets, but the available information on the individual is limited. Neither the patient's name nor age has been released, and the exact location within the Democratic Republic of the Congo where the person is being treated has not been specified.
Details of the evacuation, including its timing and the flight arrangements, have not been disclosed in the reporting available. Nor have figures on the wider outbreak, such as total case numbers, or the specific strain of Ebola involved been provided in the sources.
The reports do not address whether the infection poses any risk to the British public. The case is a reminder of the danger faced by healthcare workers who treat patients in outbreak zones, where the virus is transmitted through direct contact with bodily fluids of infected people.
Source: manchestereveningnews.co.uk
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