Councillors are to be briefed on the risk to Kingston from the largest ever outbreak of the deadly Ebola virus.

GPs and hospitals have been contacted by health bosses from Public Health England with instructions on how to deal with a potential infection.

The disease, passed on through bodily fluids, has killed more than 1,000 people in west African countries like Liberia and Sierra Leone.

Kingston Council leader Councillor Kevin Davis said: "As ever with these things to do with public health, we always listen to what the Department of Health says we should do.

"At this stage I'm not conscious of there being any particular issues we need to attend to."

A report to councillors said: "Medical advice remains that the risk to the UK is very low.

"The UK has an established, well-tested system to deal with any known or suspected imported case of this disease and good systems for infection control in hospitals."

The report added that "the UK has experienced people who are ready to deal with anything if it were to arrive here."

A British volunteer nurse, William Pooley, from Eyke, Suffolk, has been flown back to the UK for treatment at the Royal Free Hospital after contracting the virus from his patients in Sierra Leone.

  • A  report will be presented to Kingston Council's health overview and scrutiny panel at a meeting next Wednesday, September 3, at the Guildhall.