Ebola: Military Ship To Head For West Africa

A British military ship is due to leave for West Africa, where hundreds of military personnel on board will join the fight against ebola.

The RFA Argus hospital ship is expected to leave its moorings in Cornwall's Falmouth Docks around lunchtime, loaded with three Merlin helicopters and a crew of around 350 - including 80 medics and 80 Royal Marines.

The crew will form part of a 750-strong team of military personnel expected to reach Sierra Leone by November.

The ship's Commanding Officer Captain David Eagles has warned that servicemen and women will face "tough regulations" while on board.

Personnel will be banned from going ashore on leave during up to three months of deployment as part of strict rules designed to ensure the ship remains "sterile" from ebola.

Royal Marines who leave the RFA Argus for operations in the local community will go through a decontamination process upon their return.

Medics will take their temperatures twice a day and anyone who shows signs of ebola will be flown to a British treatment clinic in Kerry Town.

Captain Eagles, 52, of the Royal Fleet Auxiliary, admitted the measures were "tough" but necessary to safeguard against ebola.

British army medics have already started to arrive in Sierra Leone to help with the battle against the disease.

A team of 91, including nurses, doctors and infectious disease consultants, will join 40 soldiers already in the West African country to work at a UK-supported treatment centre, which has 12 of its 92 beds set aside for healthcare workers who risk infection while treating others.

There have been 4,493 ebola deaths during the latest outbreak, with 926 coming in Sierra Leone, according to the World Health Organisation.

Meanwhile, Public Health England has announced screening for passengers from ebola-risk countries is to be expanded to Birmingham and Manchester airports, although no start date has been revealed.

After Thursday's meeting of the Government's Cobra committee, Downing Street said Chief Medical Officer Sally Davies still believes the risk to the UK is "low".