Suspected Ebola case forces Glasgow Hospital unit into emergency lockdown

Suspected Ebola case forces Glasgow Hospital unit into emergency lockdown The person presented at Glasgow's Queen Elizabeth University Hospital's Acute Receiving Unit around 6am on Tuesday with Ebola symptoms, and the facility in Scotland was quickly sealed off Part of a UK hospital has been placed into lockdown after a suspected Ebola case. The individual attended the Queen Elizabeth University Hospital’s Acute Receiving Unit in Glasgow at around 6am on Tuesday, June 30. The unit was placed into emergency lockdown and sealed off from members of the public. It is understood the individual had recently returned to Glasgow after travelling to a country affected by Ebola before attending hospital with concerning symptoms. They were assessed before being isolated for testing, treatment and further examinations. Tests remain ongoing to determine whether the individual has contracted Ebola, with medics also screening for a number of other infectious diseases. Results could take several days. A hospital source said: “Obviously Ebola is a deadly and contagious illness, and emergency measures had to be put in place immediately to protect both staff and any members of the public. “The person came to the Acute Receiving Unit, where people are sent by their GP or the health board’s 101 number to avoid having to present at accident and emergency. This was quickly shut down and sealed off from the rest of the hospital.” The source told the National : “The person was assessed there and then taken elsewhere in the hospital. I believe they were put into confinement while the tests to establish if they have Ebola or something else are carried out.” The latest Ebola outbreak, first declared in May 2026, has affected both the Democratic Republic of Congo and Uganda. It is being driven by the rare Bundibugyo strain of the virus, for which there is currently no approved vaccine. One case has also been recorded in both France and Germany. If the tests confirm Ebola, it would be the UK’s first confirmed case in over an decade. The last confirmed case involved public health nurse Pauline Cafferkey, who contracted the virus while working at an Ebola treatment centre in Sierra Leone. She returned to Glasgow and was diagnosed with Ebola at Gartnavel General Hospital on December 29, 2014, before later being treated at the Queen Elizabeth University Hospital in 2016 after suffering a recurrence of the illness. Another hospital worker told the Glasgow Times : “The mere mention of the word Ebola strikes panic into people. You think of it as a disease that happens elsewhere. “The hospital has strict protocols and procedures to deal with these types of rare occurrences and everything seemed to be followed to a tee, but it is still a worry for those who were on duty at the time.” A spokesperson for Public Health Scotland (PHS) said: “PHS is working closely with the UK Health Security Agency to assess routes by which travellers may enter the UK from affected countries. The risk from people arriving in the UK from affected areas is low and the NHS has safe procedures in place for detecting and managing any such cases. “PHS and NHS boards across Scotland have well established protocols for assessing and testing travellers arriving in the UK from areas affected by Ebola where necessary. Where required, contact tracing will occur and contacts may undergo clinical assessment and precautionary testing.” The spokesperson added: “There are currently no confirmed cases of Ebola in Scotland and the risk to the general public remains low. “Ebola is transmitted through direct contact with blood or bodily fluids of symptomatic individuals or contaminated objects. Scotland has strict protocols for monitoring and controlling potential cases.”