A health care worker who was diagnosed with the Ebola virus after returning to Scotland from
Sierra Leone was transferred early Tuesday to the Royal Free Hospital in London.
The woman
was working with Save the Children at an Ebola treatment center in Sierra
Leone, according to Michael von Bertele, humanitarian director at that
organization.
She
traveled via Casablanca, Morocco, and London Heathrow Airport before arriving
at Glasgow Airport on a British Airways flight late Sunday night, the Scottish health
agency NHS Scotland said.
After feeling unwell on
Monday, she sought medical care and became the first person to be diagnosed
with Ebola within the United Kingdom. Continue..
The woman, who usually works as a
nurse in Scotland, had gone out to Sierra Leone in November as a volunteer for
Save the Children.
She was
reportedly transferred to London in a military aircraft fitted with an
isolation pod.
The Royal
Free Hospital is equipped with a high-level isolation unit, with access
restricted to specially trained medical staff. A specially designed tent, with
controlled ventilation, will be set up over the patient's bed.
A British
volunteer nurse, William Pooley, was successfully treated in the unit after he
was brought home from Sierra Leone in August having been diagnosed with Ebola
there.
'Extremely
low' risk
UK
authorities are working to trace those who have come intocontact with the woman diagnosed Monday.
The
Scottish government has set up a special number for people to call if they traveled on
the same London Heathrow to Glasgow flight as the health care worker and have
concerns.
British
Airways said it was working closely with health authorities in England and
Scotland and would help with any information needed.
"The
safety and security of our customers and crew is always our top
priority and the risk to people on board that individual flight is extremely
low," the airline said.
Ebola
patients only become infectious after they display symptoms, such as fever and
vomiting. The deadly virus is spread through contact with bodily fluids.
Possible
cases
Meanwhile,
a second woman is being tested for Ebola in the Northwest Highlands of
Scotland, a spokesman for the Scottish government told CNN.
"She
will soon be transferred to Aberdeen Royal Infirmary. She was in West Africa
recently although she had no direct contact with anyone with Ebola," he
said.
A third
suspected Ebola case is being tested in the southwest of England at the Royal
Cornwall Hospital, heath officials said.
"We
do not expect the results to be known for at least 24 hours and in the meantime
the patient is being looked after in isolation, following nationally agreed
guidelines and protocols to protect the health of our staff and other
patients," said a joint statement from the hospital and Public Health
England, a government agency.
According
to UK government guidelines,
humanitarian workers returning from Ebola-affected countries in West Africa
who've been at high risk of exposure are expected to monitor their own health
for 21 days after they get home.
As of
December 24, at least 7,693 people had died in the current Ebola outbreak,
centered in Liberia, Sierra Leone and Guinea, the World Health Organization
said. There have been at least 19,695 cases.
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