UK hospital ‘in lockdown’ after potential deadly Ebola case detected

A UK hospital is reportedly in lockdown after a potentially deadly Ebola case was detected.

A possible case of the deadly virus is being investigated by health officials in the UK after a patient presented with concerning symptoms.

Colchester Hospital in Essex was forced to close a department overnight so staff could deal with an “infection control issue”, reports The Sun.

The patient is believed to have reported their concerns after “developing viral symptoms and revealing their recent travel history”.

The NHS says that the Ebola virus disease is a serious viral infection that originated in sub-Saharan Africa. No one has caught Ebola from someone else in the UK.

A source revealed that the hospital’s urgent treatment centre was in ‘lockdown’ as a result of the scare.

Officials at the UK Health Security Agency told the publication that it is routine to test unwell returning travellers for a variety of infectious diseases.

The patient is reportedly being tested for viral haemorrhagic fevers, with “results expected in the coming days”.

Dr Meera Chand, UKHSA director of clinical and emerging infection, said: “Individuals who have travelled recently and report illness are routinely assessed by NHS clinicians for a variety of infectious diseases.”

Ebola symptoms include fever, fatigue, muscle pain, headache, sore throat, vomiting and diarrhoea, a rash, and in some cases bleeding from the gums, or blood in the stools, according to the World Health Organization.

A spokeswoman for the East Suffolk and North Essex NHS Foundation Trust, which runs Colchester Hospital, said the 24-hour urgent treatment centre had fully reopened by 7am today.

“Thank you to all patients and staff for their support this afternoon when we had to temporarily close an area in the urgent care centre to deal with an infection control issue,” she said.

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