Preparations are being made to make sure that any nurses or doctors are prepared to deal with suspected cases of the ebola virus.
Staff at Barking, Havering and Redbridge University Hospitals NHS Trust (BHRUT) are now carefully following national guidance on how to deal with the infection.
Ian Hosein, director of infection prevention at BHRUT said: “It is important that people understand that ebola is not an airborne virus, so it cannot be spread without extremely close contact.
“However, we are full prepared to deal with any suspected cases, as are our colleagues in community care.”
The disease has currently spread across West Africa with confirmed cases in Sierra Leone, Liberia and Guinea.
Rita Chadha at the Refugee and Migrant Forum of Essex and London (RAMFEL) said: “Boarder controls are that strict when it comes to health care that it would be highly unlikely that ebola would come to the UK.
“Public health can never be a waste of time and this has come from the World Health Organisation - every country in the world is doing it.”
The fatality rate can reach around 90%, although in the current outbreak is around 55%.
Comments: Our rules
We want our comments to be a lively and valuable part of our community - a place where readers can debate and engage with the most important local issues. The ability to comment on our stories is a privilege, not a right, however, and that privilege may be withdrawn if it is abused or misused.
Please report any comments that break our rules.
Read the rules here