A British national in the Democratic Republic of Congo has tested positive for Ebola, the UK government confirmed. It is the first confirmed case of a UK national contracting the virus during the most recent outbreak in the country, which has led to more than 5,000 deaths, the BBC reported.
A government spokesperson said the UK “has well-established procedures for dealing with cases like this, and those processes have been activated.” “Further information will be shared in due course as appropriate,” the spokesperson said. “The risk to the UK public from Ebola remains low.”
The Foreign Office did not confirm whether the patient would be brought back to the UK for treatment, though a British national who was exposed to the virus in July was flown back for medical attention, as have previous nationals infected abroad. Reuters reported that the most recent patient is a healthcare worker and would be brought to the UK for treatment, citing an internal document that BBC News has not seen.
More than 10,000 confirmed cases have been recorded since the outbreak began in May, and it has since become the deadliest in the country’s history. A fatality rate of 48.6 percent was reported at the end of last month.
