Story perspectives

UK Reactivates Ebola Monitoring Scheme for DRC Returnees

7/1/2026

Summary

Story summary

The UK Health Security Agency activated the Returning Workers Scheme in May 2026 to monitor staff returning from the DRC Ebola outbreak.
The scheme, launched in November 2014 after the West African Ebola epidemic, treated three UK health workers returning from West Africa in 2014-15, who recovered fully without further transmission.
Experts say UK risk stays very low because Ebola spreads only via direct contact with infected bodily fluids after symptoms appear.

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Story summary

The UK Health Security Agency activated the Returning Workers Scheme in May 2026 to monitor staff returning from the DRC Ebola outbreak.
The scheme, launched in November 2014 after the West African Ebola epidemic, treated three UK health workers returning from West Africa in 2014-15, who recovered fully without further transmission.
Experts say UK risk stays very low because Ebola spreads only via direct contact with infected bodily fluids after symptoms appear.