LONDON - British Foreign Secretary Philip Hammond held a top-level government meeting Wednesday to discuss the outbreak of the highly infectious Ebola virus across West Africa which he warned posed a threat to Britain. Ebola is believed to have killed 672 people in Guinea, Liberia and Sierra Leone since the outbreak began in February. While no British citizens were believed to be affected, Hammond earlier told BBC that Ebola "is a threat. It is something we need to respond to."
Hammond said after the emergency meeting that London was considering extra precautions. He did not specify what precautions. “The issue is about the possibility of somebody who has contracted the disease in Africa getting sick here," he said after the meeting, attended by which health experts, scientists and other ministers. "It is not about the disease spreading in the U.K. because frankly we have different standards of infection control procedure that would make that most unlikely.” Ministers also discussed what additional measures Britain could take to help contain the outbreak in West Africa, Hammond said.
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