British doctor with Ebola flown home from DR Congo to London hospital

A British doctor who tested positive for Ebola in the Democratic Republic of Congo has been flown back to the UK for treatment. He is now in a specialist isolation unit in north London.

Officials stress that the risk to the public remains low.

What happened?

The man, who has not been named, landed at RAF Northolt, a Royal Air Force base in west London, on a medical evacuation flight. It was a joint effort by the UK and DR Congo governments and their international health partners, the Department of Health said.

A convoy was waiting for him. Three large police vans travelled at either end, with two ambulances and a support car in between. Traffic was stopped and police kept the public back as the convoy reached the Royal Free Hospital.

He is being treated in a "highly specialised" isolation unit there.

Why is this a big deal?

It is the first confirmed case of a UK national catching Ebola in the current outbreak in DR Congo. That outbreak began in May and has recorded more than 10,000 confirmed cases and more than 5,000 deaths. It is the second deadliest Ebola outbreak on record, behind the one in West Africa in the 2010s. The fatality rate was reported at 48.6% at the end of October.

This outbreak is driven by the Bundibugyo variant of the virus. Ebola spreads through contact with infected bodily fluids such as blood or vomit. Early symptoms include vomiting and diarrhoea, and it can progress to organ failure and internal bleeding. Cases have also been confirmed in Kenya, Nigeria and Uganda.

Dr Renu Bindra of the UK Health Security Agency (the UK's public health protection body) said there are "well-established procedures for dealing with cases like this".

Has this happened before?

There have only been four confirmed Ebola cases in the UK. One, in 1976, came from a laboratory incident. The other three were health workers who caught the virus while responding to the West Africa outbreak in 2014 and 2015. All three were treated at the Royal Free, and none of the four cases ended in death.

What's next?

The doctor will stay in isolation while the specialist team treats him. There is no approved vaccine for the Bundibugyo variant. The World Health Organization says 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. They will join once Congolese health authorities approve them.