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British healthcare worker with Ebola is flown home from Congo for treatment

The Department of Health and Social Care says the patient is in a London isolation unit, and the government says public risk is low.

The Royal Free Hospital in Hampstead, London, in 2019
The Royal Free Hospital in Hampstead, London, in 2019. Photo: David Howard, CC BY-SA 2.0, Wikimedia Commons
5 news outlets reported this
Liberal3 outletsA British health worker's evacuation and the outbreak's scaleCenter0 outletslittle coverageConservative2 outletsThe evacuation announcement and the government's low-risk message
Published 3 min read
Overview

A British healthcare worker who tested positive for Ebola in the Democratic Republic of the Congo has been flown back to the UK. A government spokesperson confirmed the infection on Wednesday. On Thursday the Department of Health and Social Care said the patient came home on a medical evacuation flight and is being cared for in a specialist isolation unit at the Royal Free hospital in north London.

The patient's identity is unknown. A humanitarian organisation had sent the worker to Congo to help respond to the outbreak. The Associated Press describes the patient as the first Briton evacuated in this outbreak and the third person who tested positive to return to Europe.

The UK government says the risk to the public is low. Dr Renu Bindra of the UK Health Security Agency said infection control protocols limit the risk of onward transmission. Congo's health ministry declared the outbreak in May.

The Associated Press reports 10,600 infections and more than 5,100 deaths, with spread across 67 health zones in eight provinces. The disease has also reached Kenya and Uganda, and Nigeria confirmed a case in Abuja last month. Four confirmed Ebola cases had been recorded in the UK before this one.

Key figures
  • 10,600 people infected in the outbreak, per the Associated Press — ABC News
  • more than 5,100 deaths in the outbreak, per the Associated Press — ABC News
  • 67 health zones across eight provinces areas affected in Congo, up from three at the start, per the Associated Press — ABC News
  • four confirmed Ebola cases in the UK before this one — The Guardian (US)

Three sides of the story

Liberal3 outlets

A British health worker's evacuation and the outbreak's scale

The Guardian reports the story twice. Its Wednesday piece opens with the evacuation of a British healthcare worker and quotes a government spokesperson saying processes "have been activated." It adds that the patient is stable, according to a document seen by Reuters, and carries a warning from Africa CDC chief Dr Jean Kaseya that the spread is "unprecedented."

Its Thursday piece opens with a British doctor's return to the UK for specialist treatment, says the patient is at the Royal Free hospital, and quotes Dr Renu Bindra of the UK Health Security Agency on infection control. ABC News runs the Associated Press report, which opens with the government's announcement. It cites 10,600 infections and 67 health zones and quotes infectious disease expert Dr Damien Tully, who calls the case "not entirely unexpected."

The New York Times reports, citing the BBC, that a British citizen infected with Ebola in Congo will be evacuated to the UK, and says the government rates the danger to the British public as low.

Center0 outlets

Outlets on this side gave the story little coverage.

Conservative2 outlets

The evacuation announcement and the government's low-risk message

The New York Post runs the Associated Press report. It opens with the government's Thursday announcement about a British man believed to be a healthcare worker, now being moved to the UK. He is expected to go to the Royal Free Hospital, whose isolation unit treated patients from the West Africa outbreak between 2014 and 2015.

The Foreign Office said the UK's infectious-disease procedures had been activated and Ebola carries a low risk for the public. The piece also mentions a Swiss woman evacuated to Geneva last month, and the spread to 67 health zones, up from three when the outbreak was declared in May. It closes with Dr Damien Tully of the London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine, who calls the infection "deeply concerning" but "not entirely unexpected."

The Washington Times reports that the government said on Thursday a British man receiving Ebola treatment in Congo is being sent to Britain.

All sources: 6 articles from 5 outlets

Liberal (4)

Conservative (2)