UK ebola alert as infected medic to fly home: Desperate bid to save first Briton struck by virus
The man, the first Briton to contract the disease outside the laboratory, will be transported by the RAF from crisis-hit Sierra Leone (pictured), to a special isolation unit (inset) the Royal Free Hospital in north London today or tomorrow. Ebola has a fatality rate of around 90 per cent and symptoms including vomiting, diarrhoea, organ failure and internal bleeding.UK ebola alert as infected medic to fly home: Desperate bid to save first Briton struck by virus
- Charity worker is first Briton to contract the disease outside the laboratory
- 2,615 people have tested positive for the disease - and 1,427 have died
- NHS chief said that the man will pose 'no risk to the public'
A
British charity worker infected by the deadly ebola virus sweeping
through West Africa is to be flown home in a desperate bid to save his
life.
The
man, the first Briton to contract the disease outside the laboratory,
will be transported by the RAF from Sierra Leone, where 392 people are
known to have died of the virus this year. The evacuation will take
place today or tomorrow.
The
decision to fly him back was taken yesterday after a top-level meeting
during which Ministers concluded there was ‘no risk’ that the
repatriation would trigger an outbreak in the UK.
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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
A
military aircraft was last night being equipped with a specially
designed isolation tent, and infectious diseases experts were on standby
to oversee the emergency evacuation.
Few
details have emerged about the man’s identity, but it is understood he
is a medic working for a British charity on the front line of the battle
against ebola.
He
will be flown into RAF Northolt near Heathrow in West London then
driven across the capital by London Ambulance Service to North London
and the Royal Free Hospital in Hampstead Heath – the only hospital in
Britain equipped to treat an ebola patient and contain the virus.
Experts
believe that if the man stays in Sierra Leone he will almost certainly
die, because its hospitals are so poorly equipped.
Two
American volunteers who contracted the virus in Liberia were recently
flown back to the US for treatment, and have recovered.
Last night the medical director of the NHS said there was no reason for the British public to be afraid.
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
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.
A
Ministry of Defence source said the man would be flown back in a C-130
Hercules, probably from RAF Brize Norton in Oxfordshire. 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.
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.
How new 'miracle' serum could save Briton
- By Mark Nicol for The Mail on Sunday
Survivor: Dr Kent Brantly, pictured, survived ebola
The survival of two US aid workers who contracted ebola in Liberia has been attributed to a revolutionary serum called ZMapp.
Dr
Kent Brantly, 33, and Nancy Writebol, 59, recovered after being given
the drug which had previously shown promising signs in tests on
primates.
Dr Brantly said he was delighted as he and Ms Writebol were discharged from hospital last week.
He said: ‘Today is a miraculous day and I am thrilled to be alive and to be reunited with my family.’
Infectious
diseases specialist Dr Bruce Ribner said that after treatment with
ZMapp he was confident that Dr Brantly had fully recovered and that he
could return to his family and professional life.
Ms Writebol’s husband said in a statement that she too was free of the virus but had been significantly weakened by her ordeal.
It
remains unclear if the drug was entirely responsible for the pair’s
recovery, but out of six people known to have received ZMapp, two have
recovered, three have shown improvement and one has died, according to
the World Health Organisation.
Change: Nancy Writebol, pictured being taken in to hospital in the US, has also recovered
ZMapp
was also given to a Spanish priest who died from the virus having been
flown home, while three Liberian health workers are showing signs of
improvement following treatment.
The drug’s manufacturer, Mapp Pharmaceuticals, acknowledges that more trials are needed.
The company has now run out of the drug after providing it free to anyone who requested it to treat ebola victims.
And
the firm is looking to work with the US Government to make more of the
potential cure, after being criticised for not being able to treat more
people.
Read more:
- WHO | Ebola virus disease (EVD)
- copy http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news
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