Public Health England to support global response to Ebola outbreak

Public Health England has confirmed that it will continue to support global efforts to combat the outbreak of the Ebola virus in west Africa.

The World Health Organization's emergency committee has announced that the ongoing outbreak has met the conditions for being designated as a public health emergency of international concern, with national disaster and emergency management mechanisms activated in several nations.

Public Health England staff have been deployed to the affected areas to provide strategic and public health support, working alongside partners such as Unicef and Medecins Sans Frontieres.

Additionally, medical practitioners in the UK have been briefed on the unfolding situation and asked to remain vigilant for signs of unexplained illness among those who have visited the affected area, with guidance in place on actions to take in the event of a possible case.

However, the government continues to state that the risk of the disease spreading to the UK remains low.

Dr Brian McCloskey, director of global health at Public Health England, said: "We have robust mechanisms in place for detecting and responding to any usual infections within the UK, but ultimately the best possible defence will be ensuring the outbreak in west Africa is brought under control."