Health officials in the United Kingdom are monitoring a potential Ebola patient who was rushed by ambulance to the Royal Liverpool Hospital on Friday morning.
The man, who has a history of travel to areas in Western Africa, was taken to the medical facility after falling ill in North Wales.
Dr. Deborah Turbitt, the national Ebola incident director of the Public Health England, confirmed that a patient in the hospital is undergoing several medical tests, including one for Ebola.
Turbitt said that while the possibility of an Ebola case is considered to be very unlikely, the tests will proceed as a safeguard against other possible illnesses. She added that this is often the case during such circumstances.
The Royal Liverpool Hospital is one of four medical facilities in the country that was placed on standby last year as part of the government's safety measures in case Ebola reaches Britain.
There have been 240 suspected cases of Ebola infection recorded in the United Kingdom from August 2014 to June of this year.
Health experts, however, assures the public that the risk for an Ebola outbreak in the country remains minimal.
Turbitt explained that the disease can only be contracted through direct contact with an infected person's blood or other bodily fluids.
She said that health agencies follow well-established protocols for controlling infection, including the management of suspected disease cases imported from other countries. She added that systems in the United Kingdom have proven that the country can handle a case of Ebola infection when identified.
"The clinicians may test for Ebola and other haemorrhagic fevers if they consider it necessary," health protection director Dr. Marion Lyons of the Public Health Wales said.
"Based on our established, evidence-based risk assessment protocol, we are confident that all appropriate actions are being taken to ensure there is no risk to public health."
Officials from the Liverpool hospital reported that the patient is being observed in isolation in order to protect the medical staff as well as to remove any possible risks to anyone at the facility.
They said that their staff has been properly trained to treat patients suspected of having infectious diseases.
Photo: Lydia | Flickr
