A female British military health care worker was diagnosed with Ebola in Sierra Leone after testing positive of the potentially-deadly disease, authorities confirmed on Wednesday. A military plane has been sent to transfer her to a health care facility.
A spokesman for Public Health England (PHE) confirms, "We can confirm that a UK military healthcare worker in Sierra Leone has tested positive for Ebola." She is being assessed by medical experts while they are contemplating of whether she will be brought back in Britain, Mail Online reports.
The Ebola outbreak silently swept over West Africa in late 2013 but has widely spread in the region by August 2014. Three countries in West Africa namely, Liberia, Guinea and Sierra Leone had the most number of cases and deaths.
The World Health Organization reports that as of March 11 there are a total of 24,247 cases of Ebola, 9,961 of which have died from the disease. During the peak of the outbreak, Liberia had the most cases. However, with the latest data, it has been surpassed by Sierra Leone with 9,343 and 11,619 cases respectively.
The United Kingdom has sent a Boeing C-17 plane to the area in preparation for the health care worker's return to Britain. She will be accompanied by a specialist doctor on board to assess if she is eligible and fit to travel.
"A clinical decision on whether the individual will be medically evacuated to the UK for treatment will be taken in due course," PHE spokesperson added.
A total of 700 British servicemen and women have been sent to Sierra Leone to help in the recovery and response against Ebola.
"An investigation in to how the military worker was exposed to the virus is currently under way and tracing of individuals in recent contact with the diagnosed worker is being undertaken.Any individuals identified as having had close contact will be assessed and a clinical decision made regarding bringing them to the UK," he added.