This article is from the source 'bbc' and was first published or seen on . It last changed over 40 days ago and won't be checked again for changes.
You can find the current article at its original source at http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-29518342
The article has changed 7 times. There is an RSS feed of changes available.
| Version 1 | Version 2 |
|---|---|
| No Ebola screening for arrivals to UK - Public Health England | No Ebola screening for arrivals to UK - Public Health England |
| (about 1 hour later) | |
| There are no plans to introduce Ebola screening for those arriving in the UK, Public Health England (PHE) has said. | There are no plans to introduce Ebola screening for those arriving in the UK, Public Health England (PHE) has said. |
| About 3,400 people, mainly from Sierra Leone, Liberia and Guinea, have died in the current outbreak. | About 3,400 people, mainly from Sierra Leone, Liberia and Guinea, have died in the current outbreak. |
| President Barack Obama said on Monday that the US planned to screen incoming air passengers for the virus. | President Barack Obama said on Monday that the US planned to screen incoming air passengers for the virus. |
| But PHE said this was not recommended by the World Health Organization and would mean screening "huge numbers of low-risk people". | But PHE said this was not recommended by the World Health Organization and would mean screening "huge numbers of low-risk people". |
| It also said if a case of Ebola was reported in the UK, the affected person would be isolated and protective measures would be implemented. | It also said if a case of Ebola was reported in the UK, the affected person would be isolated and protective measures would be implemented. |
| Dr Brian McCloskey, director of global health at PHE, said: "Our robust, well-developed and well-tested NHS systems for managing unusual infectious diseases are all active permanently, and always available and regularly tested and proven to be effective. | Dr Brian McCloskey, director of global health at PHE, said: "Our robust, well-developed and well-tested NHS systems for managing unusual infectious diseases are all active permanently, and always available and regularly tested and proven to be effective. |
| "The overall risk of Ebola to the UK remains low." | "The overall risk of Ebola to the UK remains low." |
| On Tuesday, it was announced that a Spanish nurse was diagnosed with Ebola in Madrid, making her the first person outside Africa to contract the disease. | |
| In August, British nurse William Pooley, 29, caught Ebola while treating patients in Sierra Leone, but recovered after receiving treatment in the UK. | |
| There are 40 flights a week arriving in the UK from three West African countries - Nigeria, Ghana and The Gambia. | There are 40 flights a week arriving in the UK from three West African countries - Nigeria, Ghana and The Gambia. |
| British Airways recently suspended flights to Liberia and Sierra Leone due to the "deteriorating public health situation" in the two countries. | British Airways recently suspended flights to Liberia and Sierra Leone due to the "deteriorating public health situation" in the two countries. |
| Meanwhile, more than 100 British army medics will be sent there to fight Ebola, the government has announced. | |
| Personnel from the 22 Field Hospital have undergone extensive training in preparation for their deployment and will staff a unit specifically set up to treat medics who have caught the disease. | |
| Armed forces minister Mark Francois said it was "critical" to give other medical workers "the comfort that if they were to become infected, they could go there and get the best medical treatment that we can provide". | |
| Passengers leaving affected countries already have their temperatures checked, but people do not become infectious until they display symptoms. | Passengers leaving affected countries already have their temperatures checked, but people do not become infectious until they display symptoms. |
| The WHO recommends that affected countries conduct exit screening on those with unexplained illness consistent with potential Ebola infection. | The WHO recommends that affected countries conduct exit screening on those with unexplained illness consistent with potential Ebola infection. |
| International Development Secretary Justine Greening said the government was continuing to keep the issue of tighter travel restrictions under review. | |
| "Obviously the Spanish authorities are now looking at how this case happened. | |
| "It doesn't change the assessment of the risk to the UK. | |
| "But what it does show is why we're right to be working with governments as we are in Sierra Leone to help them combat this disease. | |
| "What we need to do is get those transmission rates back under control, but until that happens we will continue to see more infections and a growing number of infections over the coming weeks." | |
| Professor John Oxford, a virologist at Queen Mary University, told the BBC all doctors have been written to about Ebola. | |
| He said: "Every doctor has been warned to look out for people coming into hospitals, taking the proper case history and not letting anything slip at that stage and taking it very seriously. | He said: "Every doctor has been warned to look out for people coming into hospitals, taking the proper case history and not letting anything slip at that stage and taking it very seriously. |
| "Everyone is on the look-out and that's how it should be." | "Everyone is on the look-out and that's how it should be." |
| He said an outbreak of the virus in the UK was unlikely, compared with West Africa. | He said an outbreak of the virus in the UK was unlikely, compared with West Africa. |
| He added: "The virus is very fragile and easily destroyed by hot water, soap and detergent. | |
| "So in a country where the infrastructure is good, where the hygiene level is good, where every house has running chlorinated water, a virus like this will find it exceedingly difficult to make a move." | "So in a country where the infrastructure is good, where the hygiene level is good, where every house has running chlorinated water, a virus like this will find it exceedingly difficult to make a move." |
| Ebola virus disease | Ebola virus disease |
| Lucy Moreton, general secretary of the ISU - the union for borders, immigration and customs - said members were concerned about coming into contact with the virus. | Lucy Moreton, general secretary of the ISU - the union for borders, immigration and customs - said members were concerned about coming into contact with the virus. |
| She said she had spoken to a border force official who said there were no firm plans to change what was currently in place. | She said she had spoken to a border force official who said there were no firm plans to change what was currently in place. |
| She said: "Nothing that is proposed by the US at this point would have detected the case they currently have. | She said: "Nothing that is proposed by the US at this point would have detected the case they currently have. |
| "No amount of screening for fever before departure would have caught that. | "No amount of screening for fever before departure would have caught that. |
| "It's better than nothing but it's not a universal solution, it's not going to stop this spreading in the way it has. | "It's better than nothing but it's not a universal solution, it's not going to stop this spreading in the way it has. |
| "There are lots of other threats to world health and clearly that has to be a sensible precaution where it can be implemented. | "There are lots of other threats to world health and clearly that has to be a sensible precaution where it can be implemented. |
| "The risk remains very low and we have robust procedures in place at borders anyway." | "The risk remains very low and we have robust procedures in place at borders anyway." |