The arrival of a Scottish nurse with Ebola from Sierra Leone is “extremely unlikely” to result in a large outbreak of the deadly virus in the UK, health chiefs have said.
The NHS has stressed the likelihood of catching the disease remains “very low” unless a person has travelled to west Africa and had direct contact with an Ebola sufferer showing symptoms.
People can become infected with Ebola if they come into contact with the blood, body fluids or organs of an infected person, or have contact with an infected animal or contaminated objects.
But the disease is not as easily transmitted as a respiratory virus such as flu and is generally not spread by shaking hands, travelling on public transport or sitting beside an Ebola sufferer who does not have any symptoms, according to NHS Choices.
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