The unnamed British citizen “has returned to the UK for specialist treatment after testing positive for the disease”, the government said in a statement.

Africa’s latest Ebola outbreak has killed more than 5,300 people, the vast majority of them in the Democratic Republic of Congo, according to the continent’s top health agency.

The British government said that the UK medic is now being treated at the Royal Free Hospital in London.

This hospital has a high-level isolation unit “specifically designed for this purpose” and strict protocols to prevent contact with the general public, it said.

Renu Bindra, deputy director of the all hazards public health response team at the UK health security agency (UKHSA) said “the risk to the wider public remains low”.

Last month, Nigeria reported an Ebola case involving a 42-year-old Swiss woman whose husband works at the country’s embassy. She was flown for treatment in Geneva.

AFP