Public Health England (PHE) deploys 100 experts to fight Ebola in West Africa

By Caribbean Medical News Staff
The latest team of scientists deployed to Sierra Leone in February 2015 brought the total of PHE staff members who have worked in the affected areas to 111 says Public Health England (PHE).
According to a report 19 staff members have been deployed to support European Mobile labs in Sierra Leone, Guinea and Liberia with seven other PHE members joining a WHO team called ‘Global Outbreak Alert and Response Network’.
Meanwhile 400 PHE staff members have been active and continue to monitor the health of all health workers returning from Ebola-torn nations as well as managing the screening process at airports, stations and ports across the UK, and tracing contacts of UK Ebola cases.
“We at PHE have a commitment to protecting the nation’s health and wellbeing, and ultimately the best way to protect the UK public will be to help bring the outbreak under control at its source. It’s very easy to talk about commitments, but on my recent visit to Sierra Leone I witnessed first-hand the dedication and professionalism of Public Health England staff. The effort involved testing in the field, to tracing contacts of UK cases, to researching new vaccines and treatment has been nothing short of immense, “said Professor Paul Cosford, PHE’s Director for Health Protection and Medical Director. He recently returned from West Africa in January on his third deployment.
According to PHE while the outbreak appears to be under control the work of PHE will not be finished until the outbreak is under control.
“The successful implementation of 3 labs within Sierra Leone has played an important part in helping to turn the tide, and I’m grateful to the PHE staff and volunteers from the NHS, Universities and other laboratories who have helped staff these labs and will be involved in helping establish a legacy of local trained staff who can support the foundation of a more resilient laboratory network for infectious diseases in Sierra Leone, “said Dr Tim Brooks who heads three labs in Sierra Leone.