A British man who has tested positive for the Ebola virus while in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) will be transported back to the United Kingdom. This incident marks the first confirmed case of a UK national contracting the rare but deadly virus during the most recent outbreak in the DRC, which has already resulted in more than 5,000 deaths. While the specific timing of his repatriation flight remains unclear, authorities have confirmed that established protocols for such situations are now active.

A UK Government spokesperson stated that there are well-established procedures for managing cases like this and emphasized that the risk to the general public in the UK remains low. According to a report by Reuters citing an internal document, the infected individual is a healthcare worker. Historically, imported Ebola cases in the UK are extremely rare and have not resulted in any deaths. There have been only four confirmed cases of the virus in the country: one in 1976 stemming from a laboratory incident, and three involving health workers who responded to an outbreak in West Africa between 2014 and 2015.

The current outbreak in the DRC began in May and has grown to become the second most deadly recorded spate of infections globally, surpassed only by the West African outbreak. It is now the deadliest in the country's history, with a reported fatality rate of 48.6% as of the end of last month. Since the start of this crisis, there have been more than 10,000 confirmed cases. The ongoing outbreak is fueled by the Bundibugyo variant of the virus, which spreads through contact with infected bodily fluids such as blood or vomit and can progress from early symptoms like vomiting and diarrhoea to organ failure and internal bleeding.

Although there is currently no approved vaccine for this specific variant, the World Health Organisation noted that experts have recommended adding two new candidate drugs to an ongoing clinical trial. These vaccines, developed by the University of Oxford in partnership with the Serum Institute of India, and another by Moderna, will join the trial once approved by Congolese health authorities. This would mark the first time jabs specifically designed to protect against the Bundibugyo virus are tested during an active outbreak. Beyond the DRC, Ebola cases have also been confirmed in Kenya, Nigeria, and Uganda.

Sources: BBC News UK.