British Airways announced today that it has suspended flights from London to Liberia and Sierra Leone amid fears over the Ebola outbreak.
The airline said it will not be operating its usual four-times-a-week service from Heathrow to Freetown in Sierra Leone - which has a connection on to Monrovia in Liberia - until the end of August.
It said in a statement: "We have temporarily suspended our flights to and from Liberia and Sierra Leone until August 31 2014 due to the deteriorating public health situation in both countries.
"The safety of our customers, crew and ground teams is always our top priority and we will keep the routes under constant review in the coming weeks.
"Customers with tickets on those routes are being offered a range of options including a full refund and the ability to rebook their flights to a later date."
The statement added: "We are alert to the possibility of Ebola cases in the UK, given the outbreak in Sierra Leone, Liberia, and Guinea, and we remain vigilant to unexplained illness in people who have travelled from the area.
"Processes have been developed to protect public health in the event that we are notified of any individual who may have been exposed to Ebola."
A spokeswoman said people cannot be tested for the virus before the onset of symptoms. The person is not symptomatic so has not been tested and is being monitored by experts.
The individual has so far been under surveillance for a week and "seems well", she said.
The spokeswoman added that the person will be monitored by experts for 21 days - the maximum period that the virus can incubate before symptoms start.
Ebola is one of the world's deadliest diseases, with up to 90% of cases resulting in death.
The symptoms of Ebola are severe, with patients often overcome by a sudden onset of fever as well as weakness, muscle pain and headaches. Vomiting, diarrhoea, rashes, kidney and liver problems follow as the virus grips the body.
The incubation period - the time between infection and the onset of symptoms - ranges from two days to three weeks. No vaccine or cure is available.
