The West African outbreak of Ebola Virus Disease (EVD) has continued to increase in severity, with the WHO reporting 4920 deaths from 13,703 cases as of 27 October.
The West African outbreak of Ebola Virus Disease (EVD) has continued to increase in severity, with the WHO reporting 4920 deaths from 13,703 cases as of 27 October.
More than 800 NHS staff have volunteered to travel to West Africa to fight the outbreak so far. William Pooley, the nurse who contracted the disease in Sierra Leone, has returned to West Africa to continue to help aid efforts. The virus has continued to spread across Western Africa, with every district of Sierra Leone and Liberia affected, with neighboring country Mali reporting its first case on 24 October.
Internationally, cases of the disease have continued to be reported. Four cases have been reported in the USA, including one death. A nurse in Spain who tested positive for EVD, after treating a healthcare worker who had contracted the disease in West Africa, has been declared Ebola free after testing negative twice.
The DH has reiterated that the risk of Ebola reaching the UK remains low.
Travellers to the UK from affected regions of West Africa are being screened at Heathrow and Gatwick airports, as well as at Eurostar terminals.