A British man, reportedly a health worker, has fallen ill with Ebola in the Democratic Republic of Congo, where a Bundibugyo-strain outbreak that began in May has already claimed more than 5,000 lives. He will be brought home to Britain, a rare passage for a disease that has reached the country only four times before, and none of those cases proved fatal. Officials say the public's risk remains low, and that the machinery built for such moments is now being set in motion. Somewhere in this story is the old human pattern of those who go toward suffering and are sometimes touched by it themselve
British Man Infected With Ebola in DR Congo to Be Flown Back to UK
A British man has been infected with Ebola, and the DR Congo outbreak has caused more than 5,000 deaths.
Imported Ebola cases are extremely rare in the UK and have resulted in no deaths.
Mark
Why does one British case draw so much attention when the outbreak has killed more than 5,000 people?
Mimi
Because it is the first confirmed UK national infected in this outbreak, and imported cases in Britain are very rare. Only four have ever been confirmed there.
Mark
And the government's line is that the risk is low?
Mimi
Yes. They say well-established procedures have been activated, and that the risk to the public remains low.
Luke
That is a statement of assessment, though, not a detailed account. We haven't been told where he will be treated or when he flies.
Mark
What about the report that he is a healthcare worker?
Luke
That comes from Reuters, citing an internal document the BBC hasn't seen. It is plausible given the earlier UK cases, but it is not confirmed by the government.
Mimi
Three of the four previous cases were health workers responding to West Africa's outbreak in 2014 and 2015.
Mark
How serious is this outbreak?
Mimi
More than 10,000 confirmed cases since May, and a reported fatality rate of 48.6% at the end of last month.
Luke
Worth noting that is a reported rate at one point in time, and it may change as more cases are counted.
Mark
And the vaccines?
Mimi
Two candidates, from Oxford with the Serum Institute and from Moderna, are recommended for the trial but still need Congolese approval. Nothing is proven yet.
Il Polso
- A British man has tested positive for Ebola in Congo, and the first flight home has no date yet, leaving families and officials waiting.
- The outbreak has passed 10,000 confirmed cases and 5,000 deaths, and it now stands as the deadliest in Congo's history and second only to West Africa's.
- There is no approved vaccine for the Bundibugyo variant, so two candidate vaccines from Oxford and Serum Institute, and Moderna, are awaiting Congolese approval to join a trial.
- The UK government says its established procedures have been activated and that public risk remains low, though details of the repatriation have yet to be shared.
- Reports that the man is a health worker rest on a single unverified source, and that uncertainty keeps the story's shape open.
A British man, reportedly a health worker, has fallen ill with Ebola in the Democratic Republic of Congo, where a Bundibugyo-strain outbreak that began in May has already claimed more than 5,000 lives. He will be brought home to Britain, a rare passage for a disease that has reached the country only four times before, and none of those cases proved fatal. Officials say the public's risk remains low, and that the machinery built for such moments is now being set in motion. Somewhere in this story is the old human pattern of those who go toward suffering and are sometimes touched by it themselves.
A British man has tested positive for Ebola in the Democratic Republic of Congo and will be flown back to the United Kingdom. It is the first confirmed case of a British national catching the virus in the current outbreak, and no date has yet been set for his journey.
A UK government spokesperson said the country has well-established procedures for such cases and that they have been activated, with more information to follow as appropriate. Officials maintain that the risk to the British public remains low. Reuters has reported, citing an internal document BBC News has not seen, that the man is a healthcare worker, but his identity and role have not been officially confirmed.
Imported Ebola is extremely rare in Britain. Only four cases have ever been confirmed there, and none has been fatal. The outbreak in Congo, which began in May, has now produced more than 10,000 confirmed cases and over 5,000 deaths, and the fatality rate reported at the end of last month stood at 48.6%.
There is still no approved vaccine for the Bundibugyo variant driving the outbreak. The World Health Organisation has recommended adding two candidate vaccines, one from Oxford and the Serum Institute of India and another from Moderna, to an ongoing trial, pending approval from Congolese authorities.
A British man has tested positive for Ebola in the Democratic Republic of Congo and is to be flown home to the United Kingdom. It is the first confirmed case of a UK national catching the virus in the current outbreak. No date has been given for the flight.
A UK government spokesperson said the country has well-established procedures for cases like this, and that those processes have been activated. More information, the spokesperson said, will be shared in due course as appropriate. The government's assessment is that the risk to the UK public from Ebola remains low.
The man's identity and role have not been officially disclosed. Reuters reported that he is a healthcare worker, citing an internal document that BBC News has not seen, so that detail rests on a single report that has not been independently confirmed here.
Imported Ebola cases are extremely rare in Britain, and none has ended in death. Only four cases have ever been confirmed in the UK. The first, in 1976, came from a laboratory incident. The other three involved health workers who had been responding to the West Africa outbreak between 2014 and 2015.
The outbreak in DR Congo began in May. It has produced more than 10,000 confirmed cases and more than 5,000 deaths, making it the second most deadly outbreak on record, behind West Africa's. It is also the deadliest in Congo's own history. A fatality rate of 48.6% was reported at the end of last month.
The outbreak is driven by the Bundibugyo variant of the virus. Ebola can cause serious illness and death. Early symptoms include vomiting and diarrhoea, and the disease can progress to organ failure and internal bleeding. It spreads from person to person through contact with infected bodily fluids such as blood or vomit. Cases have also been confirmed in Kenya, Nigeria and Uganda since the outbreak began.
There is no approved vaccine for this variant. The World Health Organisation said experts have recommended adding two candidate vaccines to an ongoing clinical trial. One was developed by the University of Oxford and the Serum Institute of India, the other by Moderna. Both will join the trial once Congolese health authorities approve them. It will be the first time vaccines designed specifically against Bundibugyo are tested during an outbreak.
Two things to watch next: the details of the man's repatriation, including when he is flown home, and whether Congolese authorities approve the two candidate vaccines for the trial.
Citazioni salienti
The UK has well-established procedures for dealing with cases like this, and those processes have been activated. The risk to the UK public from Ebola remains low.— UK government spokesperson
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