The British Ebola victim in the bubble: Nurse called William is airlifted from Sierra Leone for treatment in London isolation ward
The charity worker, believed to be a male nurse called William,
was pictured being wheeled across a runway in a hospital bed (left) to
be loaded onto a Royal Air Force jet (right). He will be taken to the
Royal Free Hospital in Hampstead Heath, north London - which has an
isolation unit (inset) and is equipped to treat an ebola patient. It is
the first confirmed case of a Briton contracting the deadly virus, for
which there is no cure, during the recent outbreak in West Africa.
A British man with ebola is on
his way to a London isolation unit this afternoon after being flown back
to Britain from Sierra Leone.
The charity worker, believed to be a male nurse called William, was being evacuated back to the UK on board a Royal Air Force jet, Sierra Leone's health ministry has said.
He will be taken to the Royal Free Hospital in Hampstead Heath, north London – which has an isolation unit and is equipped to treat an ebola patient.
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The Department of Health said today that the man is 'not currently seriously unwell.'
Deputy chief medical officer John Watson, said experts are 'assessing the situation to ensure that appropriate care is delivered.'
It is the first confirmed case of a Briton contracting the deadly virus, for which there is no cure, during the recent outbreak in West Africa.
Sidie Yayah Tunis, director of communications for Sierra Leone's health ministry, said the man has been transported to the main airport in the coastal town of Lungi and will fly to Britain today.
Mr Tunis said the male patient, who has not been identified, was volunteering at a clinic in Kenema district in the east of Sierra Leone, one of the worst affected areas where 303 people have been diagnosed with the disease.
London isolation unit on standby as airlift operation to bring Briton with ebola back from Sierra Leone begins
- Charity worker is first Briton to contract the disease outside the laboratory
- Male patient is being taken to London on board a Royal Air Force jet
- He will be treated at the Royal Free Hospital in Hampstead Heath, London
- Patient 'not currently seriously unwell', says Department of Health
- Man had been volunteering at a clinic in Kenema, Sierra Leone
- World Health Organization also considering evacuating another international health worker who has become infected in Sierra Leone
The charity worker, believed to be a male nurse called William, was being evacuated back to the UK on board a Royal Air Force jet, Sierra Leone's health ministry has said.
He will be taken to the Royal Free Hospital in Hampstead Heath, north London – which has an isolation unit and is equipped to treat an ebola patient.
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Pictures have emerged of the moment a British charity worker was evacuated back to the UK on board a Royal Air Force jet
The patient will be flown into an airport near London, possibly RAF Northolt near Heathrow, then driven across the capital
Destination: A British charity worker diagnosed
with ebola is being airlifted out of Sierra Leone and is expected to be
taken to the High Security Infectious Disease Unit at the Royal Free
Hospital in London (pictured)
Treatment: The hospital is the only centre in the UK equipped to treat ebola and prevent the disease from spreading
The Department of Health said today that the man is 'not currently seriously unwell.'
Deputy chief medical officer John Watson, said experts are 'assessing the situation to ensure that appropriate care is delivered.'
It is the first confirmed case of a Briton contracting the deadly virus, for which there is no cure, during the recent outbreak in West Africa.
Sidie Yayah Tunis, director of communications for Sierra Leone's health ministry, said the man has been transported to the main airport in the coastal town of Lungi and will fly to Britain today.
Mr Tunis said the male patient, who has not been identified, was volunteering at a clinic in Kenema district in the east of Sierra Leone, one of the worst affected areas where 303 people have been diagnosed with the disease.
The
decision to bring him to the UK was taken yesterday after a top-level
meeting during which Ministers concluded there was ‘no risk’ that the
repatriation would trigger an outbreak in this country.
Epidemic: Doctors assist patients in Sierra Leone, one of the countries worst affected by ebola
Deadly virus: A Briton is Sierra Leone
has tested positive for deadly Ebola. Pictured above are health workers
in Liberia carrying a female victim
Crisis: West African countries such as
Sierra Leone and Liberia (pictured) have been hit particularly hard,
and required military intevention to keep the peace
It is understood that the man had been working in Sierra Leone, where 392 people are
known to have died of the virus this year.
The emergency evacuation is being overseen by infectious disease experts, and the RAF jet has been fitted with a specially designed isolation tent.
He
will be flown into an airport near London, possibly RAF Northolt near
Heathrow, then driven across the capital by London Ambulance Service to
the Royal Free Hospital.
Experts
believe that if the man had remained in Sierra Leone he would have
almost certainly have died, because its hospitals are so poorly
equipped.
The
World Health Organization is also considering medical evacuation for
another international health worker who has become infected in Sierra
Leone.
Quarantine: Slums containing as many
as 50,000 people have been cordoned off by African governments in a big
to contain the outbreak. Pictured above is a man throwing containers of
water across the boundaries
Waiting: Potential Ebola victims wait behind a cordon for food from a humanitarian aid shipment to arrive
SECURE WARD WHERE HE'LL FIGHT FOR LIFE
Britain's
first ebola patient will be treated at the country’s only High Secure
Infectious Disease Unit (HSIDU), at the Royal Free Hospital in
Hampstead, North London.
It
contains just two beds in a ward large enough to normally fit 20. The
medic will be wheeled in, enclosed in the same isolation tent used to
transport him from Sierra Leone, to minimise contamination risk.
Expert: Dr Stephen Mepham will be among the medics treating the ebola patients
The
unit contains an array of special equipment to ensure he does not pass
on the virus – including a ‘negative pressure’ air flow to make sure no
virus particles escape either the tent or the room itself.
He will be treated by a specialist team including infectious diseases consultant Dr Stephen Mepham.
The nationality of the infected WHO employee has not been given.
The two cases highlight the risks facing health workers on the front lines of the battle against Ebola.
'This is the first time someone working under the aegis of WHO has fallen ill with the disease,'
the WHO said in its statement, adding that more than 225 health workers
have been infected and nearly 130 have died from Ebola during the
current outbreak.
Two
American volunteers who contracted the virus in Liberia were recently
flown back to the US for treatment, and have since recovered.
Last night the medical director of the NHS said there was no reason for the British public to be afraid.
Professor Sir Bruce Keogh said: ‘We have prepared rigorous plans for this type of situation.
‘This
individual will pose no risk to the public, and only the tiniest risk
to those who those who come into direct contact with him.
‘Ebola is not an airborne virus and can only be transmitted through bodily fluids such as blood, vomit, sweat and diarrhoea.’
The
decision to fly the British man home was taken yesterday morning in a
meeting involving Health Secretary Jeremy Hunt, Foreign Secretary Philip
Hammond, Sir Bruce and Number 10.
The
ebola outbreak, which has ripped through Sierra Leone, Guinea and
Liberia in West Africa, is by far the biggest ever recorded.
So
far there have been 2,615 confirmed cases and 1,427 deaths, according
to the World Health Organisation (WHO), and casualties continue to mount
by the day.
Dozens
of British volunteers are thought to be working with ebola patients
across the region. Although they wear full biological protection suits
and are highly trained in infection control, they run the risk every day
of catching the killer disease.
On
Friday, Sierra Leone passed a new law imposing possible jail time for
anyone caught hiding an Ebola patient - a practice that the WHO believes
has contributed to a major underestimation of the current outbreak.
According to lawmaker Ansumana Jaiah Kaikai, the new law, which will now be sent for presidential approval, imposes prison terms of up to two years for violators.
He
said the measure was necessary to compel people to cooperate with
government officials, noting that some had resisted steps to combat
Ebola and build isolation centers in their communities.
Protection: Red Cross volunteers are pictured above in protective gear to defend them from infection
Dangerous: Ebola, which is transmitted
through contact with fluids such as blood and mucus from infected
people and animals, has killed more than 1,000 people in West Africa
Tests: A protected health worker scans a Liberian for signs of the deadly illness
Yesterday
Ivory Coast became the latest country to close its land borders due to
fears over the spreading virus, following the lead of Senegal, Cameroon,
Gabon and South Africa, which have imposed similar restrictions.
The
disease is now spreading to Nigeria, which has major links to the UK.
So far, five people in that country have died of ebola.
The
Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO) issued updated advice earlier
this week which urged travellers to carefully assess their need to
travel to Sierra Leone, Guinea and Liberia.
‘General
medical facilities throughout Sierra Leone are currently under severe
strain due to the ebola outbreak, and unable to provide the same
standard of healthcare as in the UK. Dedicated healthcare facilities for
ebola are overwhelmed,’ the FCO warned.
British
Airways suspended flights to Liberia and Sierra Leone on August 5 until
the end of the month over concerns about the outbreak.
The
carrier normally operates a four-times-a-week service from Heathrow to
Freetown in Sierra Leone, with a connection on to Monrovia in Liberia.
The
only other Briton ever known to have contracted ebola is former
laboratory technician Geoffrey Platt, who accidentally pricked his thumb
while taking a sample from an infected guinea pig at the
Microbiological Research Establishment at Porton Down in Wiltshire, in
November 1976.
He
suffered three days of extreme weakness, diarrhoea and vomiting, and a
rash that covered his body – but he survived. Mr Platt then spent 40
days in quarantine.
Now
80, he said earlier this month: ‘The public need to be alert and
everything needs to be done to stop ebola breaking out in Britain.’
It
was confirmed yesterday that an Irish engineer who died at home after
returning from working in Sierra Leone had not contracted ebola.
WHAT IS EBOLA? HOW INFECTIOUS, FATAL DISEASE TURNS FLESH TO MUSH
Ebola is an infectious and usually fatal disease which spreads through contact with body fluids.
Initial
symptoms include muscle pain, fever and a sore throat which turns into
severe internal bleeding from the mouth, rectum and eyes.
The virus attacks almost all kinds of tissue, reducing organs and flesh to a pudding-like mush.
Up to 90 per cent of victims die – making ebola one of the most lethal viruses known to man.
Lethal: The virus, pictured above under a microscope, almost always kills
Most
succumb within six to 16 days of infection. Since the disease was
identified in 1976, no clinically proven cure has emerged.
However, charity MSF has improved survival rates using antibiotics.
Outbreaks have occurred primarily in remote villages in central and West Africa, near tropical rainforests.
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