Patient tested for suspected Ebola virus at Glasgow hospital
A patient is being tested for suspected Ebola virus at a hospital in Glasgow.
It is understood he was taken to Queen Elizabeth University Hospital (QEUH) in the early hours of Tuesday.
Tests are currently being performed to confirm whether the individual has the disease.
If confirmed, it would be the first case in the UK since an outbreak in the Democratic Republic of Congo and Uganda in May.
The epidemic in Africa was declared a public health emergency of international concern by the World Health Organization (WHO).
NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde said there were no ward closures at QEUH and confirmed patients and visitors were not advised to stay away.
Unlike flu or Covid, it is not an airborne virus, so it is not spread simply by being near an infected person.
Public Health Scotland (PHS) said it was working closely with the UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA) to assess the routes by which travelers from affected countries could enter the UK.
A spokesman said: “There are currently no confirmed cases of Ebola in Scotland and the risk to the general public remains low.”
An Ebola outbreak was confirmed in the Democratic Republic of Congo and Uganda in May [Getty Images]
PHS added that it, along with other NHS health organisations, had “well-established protocols for assessing and testing travelers arriving in the UK from Ebola-affected areas”.
A spokesman said: “Contact tracing will be carried out where necessary and contacts may undergo clinical assessment and precautionary testing.”
PHS confirmed UKHSA Returning Workers Scheme (RWS)The campaign, which aims to protect and monitor the health of people traveling from the UK to affected areas for work, has been activated.
Organizations that send workers to affected areas where their work could expose them to Ebola must enroll them in the program, the spokesperson said.
Pauline Cafferkey spent several weeks in the Royal Free Hospital in London after becoming the first person in the UK to be diagnosed with Ebola. [Getty Images]
Last week France confirms first Ebola case – A doctor returning from a humanitarian mission in the Democratic Republic of Congo.
in December 2014 nurse Pauline CafferkeyBlantyre, from South Lanarkshire, contracted the disease after returning to the UK from Sierra Leone.
He recovered, but the disease relapsed and he developed meningitis, which severely affected his joints and ability to walk, among other problems.
In June 2019 he gave birth to twin boys and said: “This shows that there is life after Ebola.”
What is Ebola?
Ebola is a rare but often fatal disease caused by a virus that attacks the body’s immune system and organs.
The virus normally infects animals, especially fruit bats, but outbreaks among humans can sometimes begin when people eat or touch infected animals.
The virus is typically spread through direct contact with blood or other body fluids, contaminated objects, or animals.
It takes 2 to 21 days for symptoms to appear. They appear suddenly and start like flu or malaria, with fever, headache and fatigue.
As the disease progresses, vomiting and diarrhea develop and may lead to organ failure. Some, but not all, patients develop internal and external bleeding.
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Analysis: Wider risk to the public is very low
The last confirmed Ebola cases in the UK were among three healthcare workers who returned from West Africa in 2014 and 2015, where they had treated Ebola patients.
In all three cases, they were treated in a high-level isolation unit and made a full recovery. There were no cases of onward transmission.
In November 2022, part of Colchester hospital was deep cleaned following a suspected case of Ebola, which was later revealed to be negative.
Infectious disease experts say the overall risk to the public is very low.
Ebola is an extremely dangerous pathogen, but it is not an airborne virus like flu or Covid.
Direct contact with infected body fluids is required for spread, and individuals usually become contagious only after symptoms develop.
The UK Health Security Agency activated the Returned Workers Program in May 2026 in response to the Ebola outbreak in the Democratic Republic of Congo.
The program is designed to protect and monitor the health of individuals traveling from the UK to Ebola-affected areas as part of their work, such as healthcare, humanitarian and government workers.
It was established in November 2014 in response to the major Ebola outbreak in West Africa.
When enrollees return to the UK, they are subject to health monitoring for 21 days, Ebola’s maximum incubation period, to monitor for any signs of disease.
