International Travellers: Ghana Govt Moves to Tighten Ebola Checks Amid Growing Concerns
- A British healthcare worker deployed to the DR Congo's Ebola outbreak response tested positive for the virus and was airlifted to the UK for treatment
- DR Congo's outbreak has recorded over 10,000 confirmed cases and more than 5,000 deaths, making it the second-largest Ebola outbreak in history
- Ghana has not recorded any Ebola cases, but the Ministry of Health announced a 21-day monitoring programme for travellers arriving from affected countries
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A British healthcare worker deployed to assist with the Ebola outbreak response in the Democratic Republic of Congo has tested positive for the disease and is being flown to the United Kingdom for specialist treatment, making them the first British national confirmed infected during the current outbreak.
Source: UGC
The UK government announced the case on Wednesday, 4 November.
"A British citizen currently in the DRC has tested positive for Ebola," a government spokesperson confirmed.
"The UK has well-established procedures for dealing with cases like this, and those processes have been activated. The risk to the UK public from Ebola remains low."
The worker, whose name has not been made public, was deployed by a humanitarian organisation to support the outbreak response.
Official documents cited by Reuters vnlt the patient was stable and expected to land in Britain on Wednesday or Thursday.
A specialist ambulance was set to transfer them to a high-consequence infectious disease unit upon arrival.
DR Congo's devastating Ebola toll
The outbreak, caused by the Bundibugyo species of the Ebola virus, was declared by Congo's health ministry in Ituri province on 15 May, with the World Health Organisation (WHO) declaring it a global health emergency two days later.
As of 1 November, the European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control reported 10,532 confirmed cases and at least 5,126 deaths across eight provinces.
Ituri remains the worst affected, with 7,431 cases and 3,492 deaths, followed by Nord-Kivu with 2,518 cases and 1,395 deaths.
There is currently no approved vaccine or specific treatment for the Bundibugyo strain, though a Phase 2/3 vaccine trial named TUMAINI enrolled its first participants in Bunia, the Ituri capital, on 23 October.
Candidate vaccines developed by Oxford University with the Serum Institute of India, and another by Moderna, are expected to join once Congolese authorities approve.
The outbreak has since spread beyond Congo's borders, with confirmed cases linked to it in Uganda, Kenya, Nigeria, and France.
What Ebola means for Ghana
Ghana has recorded no Ebola cases. On November 3, 2026, the Ministry of Health announced that the Ghana Health Service would monitor all travellers arriving from Ebola-affected countries for 21 days.
Arriving passengers are required to complete a health declaration form, disclose any recent travel to or through affected countries in the previous 21 days, and immediately report any symptoms.
Ebola spreads through direct contact with blood, vomit, or other bodily fluids of an infected person.
Early symptoms include fever, weakness, headache, vomiting, and diarrhoea, and the disease can progress to organ failure and internal bleeding. The WHO estimates the virus kills approximately half of those it infects.
The WHO advises against any travel or trade restrictions with affected countries and rates the global risk outside Africa as low.
The Facebook post below has Ghana's statement on new Ebola scare measures.
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Source: YEN.com.gh
