The risk to Isle of Man residents remains low - but the health services are 'fully prepared' for ebola.

The virus has killed more than 3,800 people in west Africa and is now in the United States and Spain.

The Department of Health and Social Care says only those who have visited one of the affected countries and who have been in contact with patients with ebola are at risk.

It says it is 'fully prepared' to deal with any suspected cases. Detailed information has been circulated to all clinicians in the Isle of Man advising when to suspect ebola and how to deal with it, highlighting that travel history is extremely important.

Any patient who is suspected of having ebola will need to have blood tests to confirm diagnosis and arrangements are in place to transport specimens to Porton Down where the tests are undertaken. The patient would be isolated until the test results are delivered. If the test confirms ebola, the patient would be transported to the Royal Free Hospital in London for treatment. Any contacts of a patient would be identified and monitored.

Director of Public Health, Dr P Kishore, said: 'I would like to reassure the public that we have taken steps to ensure that we are fully prepared for any suspected ebola cases in the Isle of Man. However I must emphasise that the Ebola outbreak in West Africa poses a very minimal risk to the Isle of Man and the chances of importing a case onto the Island is very low, with the risk of an outbreak here virtually zero.

'It is important to remember that since 1994 there have been ebola outbreaks every year in sub-Saharan Africa – so this year’s outbreak is not unexpected – it is the scale of the outbreak that is posing a significant challenge.'

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