Patient tested for suspected Ebola virus at Glasgow hospital

A patient admitted to Queen Elizabeth University Hospital in Glasgow in the early hours of Tuesday was tested for suspected Ebola virus, Public Health Scotland confirmed. The individual had recently travelled to a country affected by the current outbreak in the Democratic Republic of Congo and Uganda, and presented at the hospital's Acute Receiving Unit around 6am with concerning symptoms.

The Acute Receiving Unit was promptly sealed off and placed into lockdown as a precautionary measure. The patient was assessed and confined for further testing, treatment and examination. Public Health Scotland confirmed the test was negative shortly before 11pm on Tuesday.

Had the case been confirmed, it would have been the first in the UK since the outbreak in the DRC was declared a public health emergency of international concern by the World Health Organization. NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde said there were no ward closures at the hospital and confirmed patients and visitors were not being advised to stay away.

Public Health Scotland said it was working closely with the UK Health Security Agency to assess routes by which travellers may enter the UK from affected countries. "There are currently no confirmed cases of Ebola in Scotland and the risk to the general public remains low," a spokesperson said. "Where required contact tracing will occur and contacts may undergo clinical assessment and precautionary testing."

Unlike flu or Covid, Ebola is not an airborne virus and is not spread simply by being near an infected person. The virus is typically spread through direct contact with blood or other bodily fluids and contaminated objects. It takes two to 21 days for symptoms to appear, beginning suddenly with fever, headache and tiredness, and can progress to vomiting, diarrhoea, organ failure and internal and external bleeding.

The last confirmed case in the UK was nurse Pauline Cafferkey, who contracted the virus in Sierra Leone in 2014 and was treated in Glasgow. She suffered a relapse and was treated again at Queen Elizabeth University Hospital in 2016 before making a full recovery. The current outbreak in Africa has resulted in approximately 138 deaths, including two in Uganda.