A patient in Glasgow is being tested for suspected Ebola after being admitted to Queen Elizabeth University Hospital in the early hours of Tuesday, according to local media reports.
The individual reportedly returned to Scotland from a country affected by Ebola before being taken to the hospital’s Acute Receiving Unit, where emergency infection-control measures were put in place.
The National newspaper quoted a source as saying the unit was quickly shut and sealed off to protect staff and members of the public while tests were carried out.
Health officials have not confirmed whether the patient has contracted the virus.
If confirmed, it would mark the first Ebola case in the UK since the recent outbreak in the Democratic Republic of Congo was declared a public health emergency of international concern by the World Health Organization.
The suspected case comes days after France confirmed its first imported Ebola infection, involving a humanitarian doctor who had returned from a mission in Congo.
The current outbreak is centred in Ituri province in eastern Congo and has spread to nearby areas, prompting heightened surveillance in Uganda over fears of cross-border transmission.
Health officials have warned that the outbreak remains a serious regional threat, particularly in conflict-affected areas where displacement and fragile health systems make containment more difficult.
The outbreak is being driven by the rare Bundibugyo strain of Ebola, for which there is no approved vaccine. Ebola can cause severe haemorrhagic fever and spreads through direct contact with the bodily fluids of infected people.