EBOLA

Ebola screening extended to Manchester and Birmingham airports

Passenger screening for Ebola is to be extended to Manchester and Birmingham airports, Public Health England says.

Staff at the two airports will begin checking passengers from at-risk countries after it is introduced at Gatwick and Eurostar next week.

Screening of arrivals from West Africa, where 4,500 have died in the outbreak, started at Heathrow on Tuesday.

Meanwhile, a Royal Navy ship carrying medical teams and aid experts has left the UK for Sierra Leone.

RFA Argus, which has a fully-equipped hospital, is expected to reach the region by the end of the month and is carrying 225 military personnel.






It will provide support to workers in Sierra Leone but will not treat civilians infected with Ebola.

David Cameron earlier urged other countries to follow Britain's lead in tackling the Ebola outbreak.

The prime minister described it as "the biggest health problem facing our world in a generation" and called on other nations to "look at their responsibilities".

RFA Argus setting sail
'Keep country safe'
Canada and the US have already introduced increased screening of travellers arriving at airports from West Africa.

France is to check passengers flying to Paris Charles de Gaulle airport from Guinea's capital Conakr from Saturday.

In September, about 1,000 people arrived in the UK from Ebola-affected countries in West Africa.



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How does screening work?
Ebola screening at Heathrow
Taking temperatures to check for fever
Ask questions to assess risk
Advice for travellers on who to call and what to do if unwell at later stage
Ebola airport screening: Will it work?

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Chief executive of Public Health England Duncan Selbie described the challenge of introducing screening at Heathrow as "phenomenal".

In a weekly message to staff, he said that once the existing measures covering Heathrow, Gatwick and the Eurostar terminal at St Pancras had "settled", they would be rolled out to other ports of entry.

Heathrow airport
"Please be assured that we are thinking hard and listening carefully to those on the ground to see how we can make this more sustainable," he said.

"What I am certain of is that we have the people who know how to keep the country safe and that is exactly what we will do."



On Friday, the UN launched another urgent appeal for funds to help fight the virus after a $1bn trust fund which opened last month received just $100,000 (£62,000).