THE spread of any disease is a cause of great concern.

While the prospect of Ebola coming to the UK is slight, the movement of people between countries through travel brings with it the potential for the spread of this serious and usually fatal disease. However, we can all rest assured that contingencies are in place to help protect us against contracting the virus. Downing Street said recently tests will be introduced for passengers travelling from the main Ebola-affected regions in West Africa - Liberia, Sierra Leone and Guinea - where the death toll has reportedly risen to nearly 4,000.

Screening involves assessing passengers’ recent travel history, who they have been in contact with, and onward travel arrangements, as well as possible medical assessment conducted by trained medical personnel. Contingency planning is also under way, including a national exercise to make sure the country is fully prepared.

UK hospitals have a proven track record of dealing with imported infectious diseases and have well developed and well tested NHS systems for managing unusual infectious diseases, supported by a wide range of experts. Ebola was initially identified in Africa in the mid-1970s, but an outbreak this year was the most serious so far. The head of the Sierra Leone Red Cross has since branded the outbreak the ‘biggest threat’ facing his country since the end of the civil war.

Emmanuel Tommy, the secretary general of the Sierra Leone Red Cross Society, says his country has been ‘paralysed’ by the deadly disease and made an impassioned plea for more help.

“Ebola is feared more than the war,” said Tommy.

The Red Cross is working across all countries affected by Ebola.

Although a serious and usually fatal disease, there are currently no licensed treatments or vaccines. However, for people outside Africa, it remains a very low threat.

In August a British nurse who was treating patients in Sierra Leone contracted the Ebola virus and was flown back to the UK for treatment in a London hospital, but experts studying the virus believe it is very unlikely the disease will spread within the UK. Symptoms, which start suddenly between two and 21 days after becoming affected but usually after five to seven days, include a fever, headache, joint and muscle pain, sore throat and intense muscle weakness. Swift treatment leads to a greater chance of survival.

The likelihood of catching the disease is considered very low unless you’ve travelled to a known infected area and had direct contact with a person with Ebola-like symptoms, or had contact with an infected animal or contaminated objects.

While possible that more people infected with Ebola could arrive in the UK on a plane, the virus is not as easily transmitted as a respiratory virus such as influenza.

In past outbreaks, infection-control measures have been very effective in containing Ebola within the immediate area – the UK has a robust public health system with trained staff and the necessary facilities.

Chief medical officer for England, Dame Sally Davies, says: “In line with international health requirements, exit screening arrangements have already been implemented in the affected countries to ensureany passenger showing signs of Ebola is prevented from leaving the country.”

“Although the risk to the UK remains low, in view of concern about the growing number of cases, it is right to ensure that any potential cases arriving in the UK are identified as quickly as possible. Rapid access to healthcare services by someone infected with Ebola is not only important for their health but also key to reducing the risk of transmission.”

“These measures could include a further package of measures to identify and assess the health status of passengers arriving from affected countries and to ensure that those individuals know what to do should they be taken ill in the UK.”

“We remain alert and prepared, should acase be identified here. We have well tested processes in place.”

Organisations closer to home are also monitoring the situation.

Tony Hallwood, Aviation Development Director at Leeds Bradford International Airport, says while they are not affected at the moment they are waiting for any revised or update procedures from the Department of Transport.

“But at the present time it is business as usual,” he says.

For more information about the disease visit gov.uk/government/topical-events/ebola-government-response or visit nhs.uk/conditions/ebola-virus/pages/ebola-virus.aspx.