Ebola military sierra leone
British Army medics sit in the departure lounge as they wait to board an aircraft to Sierra Leone. Up to 700 UK military personnel have been deployed to the country to aid the fight against Ebola Matt Cardy/Getty Images

A Briton infected with the deadly Ebola virus in Sierra Leone is coming to the UK for treatment.

The unnamed woman was working in a military healthcare role when she tested positive for the disease.

A Royal Air Force plane is transporting the patient from the Ebola hotspot in western Africa, where she was being treated in Kerry Town.

The woman will be treated at the Royal Free Hospital in London, a spokesman said.

Only three Britons – including this latest case – have contracted Ebola during the outbreak and none have died from the haemorrhaging disease.

Up to 700 British military personnel have been deployed to Sierra Leone in a bid to contain the Ebola outbreak, in which nearly 10,000 people have died.

Health officials said Britain was well prepared for treating Ebola patients. "The UK has robust, well-developed and well-tested systems for managing Ebola and the overall risk to the public in the UK continues to be very low," said a Public Health England spokesman.

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