Ebola Preparedness

First Minister to chair a meeting of the Scottish Government Resilience Committee to discuss Ebola.

Alex Salmond will consider possible support for countries affected and ensure Scotland's NHS is prepared should any cases be confirmed in Scotland.

The ongoing epidemic in Africa has killed more than 3,500 people and has spread to Madrid in Spain.

Health officials are looking at upgrading several hospitals in the UK - if the virus reaches our shores.

But there are no plans to screen travellers entering the country.

Health Secretary Alex Neil said:

"Ebola currently poses a very low risk to Scotland, and we have been working closely with Health Protection Scotland (HPS) to monitor this situation since the outbreak in West Africa began. It should be emphasised that, even if a case was diagnosed, we have the expertise and facilities to ensure that this would be contained and isolated effectively. But it is right to ensure that we are both doing all we can to help in the countries affected and that Scotland’s NHS stands ready should a case of Ebola be confirmed in Scotland.

"The Scottish Government is working with other UK departments to ensure that appropriate border controls are in place and we have a co-ordinated response to this, continually evolving, situation. This is in line with advice and actions being introduced globally. We have also provided £500,000 to the World Health Organisation to help combat spread of the disease in Africa.

"Scotland has a robust health protection surveillance system which monitors global disease outbreaks and ensures that we are fully prepared to respond to such situations."