- Minister Norman Baker said Ebola screening should be brought in at airports
- Four hospitals in Liverpool, Sheffield, Newcastle and London put on standby
- Chief medical officer has warned medics to remain vigilant to signs of virusÂ
- Universities and schools also told to look out for Ebola symptoms in pupils
- Lancaster University study found 50/50 chance of virus hitting UK in 16 days
- World Health Organisation said it is ‘unavoidable’ that more cases will be diagnosed in Europe after Spanish nurse tested positive for the deadly virus
- She was the first case where a victim contracted the disease outside Africa
Lizzie Parry for MailOnline
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Home Office Minister Norman Baker said Britain should consider introducing an Ebola screening programme for visitors arriving at UK airports as four major hospitals were put on standby in case the virus reaches the country.
Mr Baker said the case for increased screening at UK airports should be examined in light of the ‘very concerning’ development in Madrid where a nurse has become the first person to contract the Ebola virus outside Africa.
The four British hospitals put on standby to take in patients affected by Ebola if the virus reaches the UK are: Liverpool University NHS foundation trust, Newcastle Upon Tyne Hospitals Foundation trust, the Royal Free Hospital in London and Sheffield Teaching Hospitals foundation.
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Travellers entering the UK will not be routinely screened for the deadly Ebola virus, health officials said
Public Health England said while the risk of Ebola reaching British shores is low, the country has ‘robust , well-developed and well-tested NHS systems for managing unusual infectious diseases’
It comes as a Spanish nurse was diagnosed with the virus, in the first case where a person has contracted Ebola without having visited West Africa. An ambulance carrying the nurse arrived at Carlos III Hospital in Madrid yesterday
Chief medical officer, Dame Sally Davies, warned medics to be vigilant and said all health professionals should take a full travel history from any patient who comes to see them with a fever.
‘It is unlikely but not impossible that people infected in Sierra Leone, Guinea and Liberia could arrive in the UK while incubating the disease and develop symptoms after their return,’ she said.
Earlier this week US president Barack Obama indicated that Washington plans to screen incoming air passengers for signs of the virus.
The UK has only two high-level containment beds – both in the Royal Free – with no isolation units available in Scotland, Wales or Northern Ireland.
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But a contingency plan is in place to send protective equipment to the other three hospitals if necessary.
Universities and schools have also been sent advice warning them to look out for pupils showing signs of fever who have come from West Africa.
Last night, Mr Baker told The Independent: ‘We need to consider whether existing controls are adequate.’
Earlier this week, scientists at Lancaster University calculated the odds of the virus spreading to Europe, based on flight patterns and said there was a 50-50 chance of it hitting Britain in 16 days.
Home Office Minister Norman Baker said Britain should consider introducing an Ebola screening programme
Following news of the case of the Spanish nurse, pictured leaving Alcorcon hospital in Madrid, the World Health Organisation said it is ‘unavoidable’ more cases will be diagnosed in Europe
Meanwhile, in Oslo medical teams received their country’s first Ebola victim after a Doctors Without Borders worker flew home after testing positive for the virus
Prime Minister David Cameron will chair a meeting of the Government’s emergency Cobra committee later today.
Ahead of the meeting, the PM spoke to the president of Sierra Leone Ernest Bai Koroma, who said the situation in his country continues to be ‘very serious’.
Mr Cameron assured him the UK will continue to do everything it can to support his administration’s efforts to battle the disease. Britain has already provided aid totalling £125 million.
Downing Street stressed that the meeting in Whitehall was one of a regular series of meetings and had been in the PM’s diary for some time.
A Number 10 spokesman said: ‘As part of the Government’s ongoing efforts to combat the outbreak of Ebola in West Africa, the Prime Minister will chair this week’s Cobra meeting on Wednesday.
‘This is part of an ongoing series of Cobra meetings to co-ordinate the UK response that started in late July and has been in the diary for some time.
‘Ahead of the meeting, the Prime Minister called President Koroma of Sierra Leone on Tuesday evening to get the latest on the situation there and the help they need.
‘The Prime Minister and President Koroma discussed how the £125 million in UK aid was helping efforts, including support for 700 extra beds in key treatment centres and training for medical staff.Â
‘The President said the situation continued to be very serious and they were increasing their response, with a need to train more medical staff, have a better system for servicing treatment centres and improve the burial process.
‘The Prime Minister said the UK would continue to do all it could to support their efforts.’Â
A team of scientists at Northeastern University in Boston have used air travel information to predict where the deadly Ebola virus could reach in the next three weeksÂ
More than 100 British army medical staff are preparing to deploy to Sierra Leone to set up a hospital to help treat other healthcare workers who have contracted the disease while treating victimsÂ
Personnel from the 22 Field Hospital in Hampshire have been in training, wearing protective gear, and treating simulated patientsÂ
Experts have warned that the UK is at risk because of Heathrow’s status as a major air hub and the flights it receives from western Africa where 7,200 people have been infected with 3,400 dying.
Last night the World Health Organisation warned that the spread of Ebola across Europe is ‘unavoidable’.
But European director Zsuzsanna Jakab said ‘the western part of the European region particularly is the best prepared in the world to respond to viral haemorrhagic fevers’.
In Madrid, bosses of the Carlos III Hospital were trying to establish how nurse Teresa Romero Ramos, 44, contracted the virus.
She was part of a medical team that cared for priest Manuel Garcia Viejo, 75, who died of ebola last month after travelling back to Spain from Sierra Leone.
Four other people, including the nurse’s husband Javier Limon Romero, have been placed in isolation. The couple’s pet dog, Excalibur, was seized in case it had been infected.
Madrid’s regional government said it would put the dog down and incinerate its body.
Hospital chiefs insisted that the correct measures had been followed and said they were investigating how the virus spread.
But medical staff claimed they were given protective suits that lacked breathing apparatus and were not completely impermeable.
More than 100 British Army medics are preparing to travel to Sierra Leone to help as back-up.
The unprecedented Ebola outbreak this year has killed more than 3,400 people in West Africa, infecting around 7,500, causing concerns it could escalate to the rest of the world.
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