Medicins Sans Frontieres (MSF) health workers disinfect protection clothes and boots outside the isolation unit at ELWA hospital. (Reuters)
A British healthcare worker who contracted the Ebola virus in Sierra Leone is being flown to London for treatment, the Department of Health said on Sunday.
Officials said the patient was currently on a military plane en route back to Britain and, while not seriously ill, would be treated at an isolation unit at a London hospital.
"The Department of Health, Public Health England (PHE) and NHS England can confirm that, following clinical advice, a decision has been made to repatriate a British national healthcare worker residing in Sierra Leone, who has been diagnosed with Ebola virus disease," a statement issued by the Department of Health said.
England's deputy chief medical officer Professor John Watson insisted the risk of the virus being spread in Britain was "very low".
The Briton is the first person from the country to have contracted the virus in a recent, devastating outbreak.
The Mail on Sunday newspaper reported that the infected person is a male medic who was working for a charity in Sierra Leone.
Ebola has spread through Liberia, Guinea and Sierra Leone, while Nigeria has also been affected, killing a total of 1,427 people since March.