Written By Unknown on Rabu, 31 Desember 2014 | 10.19
Medical authorities had been expecting a case of Ebola to be diagnosed in the UK by Christmas. They were just a few days out.
The infection control procedures appear to have been followed to the letter.
The nurse sought medical advice by phone when she developed symptoms overnight, a specialist ambulance crew wearing protective equipment put her into quarantine and just one person is thought to have had direct contact with her.
Passengers sitting near her on the flight from London Heathrow to Glasgow on Sunday evening are being contacted.
But this seems to be a precaution - the nurse was not suffering symptoms on board and so wasn't infectious.
The safety-first approach also lies behind the isolation of a second possible case in Scotland, and another in Truro, while they are tested for the virus.
Anyone with a fever who has been to the West African countries affected by the epidemic and may have had contact with the virus is considered a risk.
But the symptoms could also be due to malaria, or indeed flu.
Public Health England figures from 4 December show that 113 patients have been tested for Ebola in similar circumstances over the last few months.
Just one - nurse Will Pooley - was positive.
So there is no reason to panic about a sudden burst of possible Ebola cases.
All it shows is that the medical authorities are being cautious. They won't gamble with public health when it comes to Ebola.
A nurse being treated for Ebola at a London hospital could be given blood donations from survivor Will Pooley to overcome the deadly virus.
Pauline Cafferkey fell ill after returning from Sierra Leone and is the first person to be diagnosed with Ebola in the UK.
She was initially treated at a Glasgow hospital after reporting symptoms on Monday morning, before being transferred to a specialist unit at the Royal Free Hospital on Tuesday.
Ebola survivor Will Pooley donated blood plasma
Chief medical officer Professor Dame Sally Davies said the experimental drug ZMapp, which was used to treat Mr Pooley, is not available at the moment.
But she added that another option could be available: "We do have available a small amount of convalescent plasma.
Video:Are We Still At Risk From Ebola?
"Will Pooley gave a donation of the plasma and the theory is as we fight off infections we make antibodies and if you harvest the plasma you got a source of antibodies that you can put in to someone and you'd expect it to work."
Ms Cafferkey is in a stable condition and the risk to the general public is said to be very low.
She travelled home via Casablanca and London Heathrow, spending around six hours in each airport before catching connecting flights.
Written By Unknown on Senin, 29 Desember 2014 | 10.18
Police have launched a murder investigation after the body of a 51-year-old man was found in Bath city centre on Christmas Eve.
A member of the public discovered Thomas Downey under a railway arch on Lower Bristol Road, near Bath railway station just after 1.30pm on Wednesday.
The area was cordoned off and a detailed search of the area continues.
A post mortem examination has been carried out and confirmed that Mr Downey died from significant head injuries.
His family have travelled down from Manchester and are helping investigating officers with the inquiry.
A spokesman for Avon and Somerset Police said: "They are being supported by a police family liaison officer and our thoughts are with them at this sad time."
Mr Downey is known locally as "Manchester Tommy".
Officers have urged anyone with information to share it with police to help them piece together what happened on Christmas Eve.
Two men in their thirties have been arrested on suspicion of murder and continue to be questioned.
The spokesman added: "The neighbourhood policing team are working with the local community to provide support and reassurance and to assist with the investigation.
"However, we are still keen to speak to anyone who was in the area near to the station in Lower Bristol Road around lunchtime on Christmas Eve.
"We believe the area would have been busy with shoppers and people leaving work early."
Anyone with information is asked to contact the Major Crime Investigation Team on 101 or Crimestoppers anonymously on 0800 555111.
London's King's Cross station was hit by more problems today as an investigation was launched into disruption caused by overrunning engineering work.
A number of trains out of King's Cross were cancelled and other services delayed after a signalling failure this afternoon.
The failure meant that some Great Northern services from the station were cancelled, while incoming trains ended their journeys at Finsbury Park.
A Great Northern spokeswoman said: "At approximately 13.30 this afternoon signalling problems were experienced in the Finsbury Park area, resulting in no trains being able to run in and out of London King's Cross.
"Several trains terminated at Finsbury Park and Welwyn Garden City. Rail replacement buses were organised for passengers to transport them across to the Thameslink route, where ticket acceptance was in place.
Video:Probe Launched Into Travel Chaos
"Signalling was restored at 14.15. Customers may have been affected by residual delays of up to 60 minutes whilst the service recovered.
"We would like to apologise for any inconvenience that Great Northern's customers may have experienced."
Today's problems follow major disruption yesterday when King's Cross and Paddington stations were closed because engineering works ran over schedule.
Both stations have since reopened and services from Paddington were running as planned, a Network Rail spokeswoman said.
Network Rail's Robin Gisby, managing director of network operations, apologised for yesterday's disruption which led to extra police being brought in to control crowds.
"I'm deeply sorry for the delays, upset and upheaval caused... to passengers impacted by our overrunning improvement work outside King's Cross," he said.
"We've had an army of 11,000 engineers out over Christmas Day and Boxing Day at 2,000 locations nationwide.
Written By Unknown on Minggu, 28 Desember 2014 | 10.19
Severe weather alerts have been issued across Britain with the Met Office warning of dangerous conditions caused by snowfall, heavy rain and extreme cold.
The Met Office says there is a 90% chance of severe cold, ice and snow in some areas of England between today and the New Year.
Yellow weather alerts are in place in the East Midlands, the West Midlands, London and the South East of England, Northern Ireland, Scotland's South West, Wales and across several other regions.
The cold weather alert issued by the Met Office warns conditions could "increase the health risks to vulnerable patients and disrupt the delivery of services".
The wild weather has already caused travel disruption on the roads, railway and at UK airports.
Video:Travel Disruptions Across UK
Motorists were forced to abandon their vehicles after becoming stuck in snow in Sheffield.
Traffic was backed up on the Prince of Wales Road in the early hours of the morning with some motorists reporting four-hour tailbacks.
Stranded coach passengers spent the night at Our Lady and St Thomas Church in Sheffield after their vehicle got stuck on the A61 heading out of the city. They eventually continued their journey early on Saturday morning.
Video:Travel Plans Hit By Snow
Liverpool's John Lennon Airport and Leeds Bradford International Airport in Yorkshire were forced to close their runways while snow was cleared.
Four flights into Liverpool from Malta, Berlin and Bucharest had to be diverted to Manchester Airport on Boxing Day. Both airports reopened on Saturday.
A pilot at Manchester Airport was also forced to call the police after he was stuck on the tarmac for three hours waiting to be "de-iced" as the snow fell.
Video:Passenger Stranded At King's Cross
The ferry port at Calais, in France, was closed for around two hours after a ferry was forced to turn back due to strong winds.
And Newcastle United football fans were forced to spend the night on their coach after it got suck heading back from Manchester near Rochdale.
Around 52 fans spent the night on the coach on the M62, before arriving back in the North East 12 hours later than expected.
Video:Sky News Weather Forecast
Christmas night was the coldest of the year so far, with -8.5C recorded at Braemar in Aberdeenshire.
Temperatures could also drop as low as -10C in some places at the start of next week.
Leek, near the Peak District in Staffordshire, has seen the worst of the snowfall with four inches falling, according to the Met Office.
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Gallery: Festive Feeling As Snow Falls Across The Midlands And Northwest England
A boy enjoys the snow on his sledge in Bingham, Nottinghamshire
The freezing temperatures make for a picturesque scene in Gunthorpe, Nottinghamshire
Delays at two of London's busiest rail hubs are expected to ease today as an investigation is launched into disruption caused by overrunning engineering work.
Rail bosses have apologised for the disruption caused when King's Cross and Paddington stations were closed because engineering works ran over schedule.
A statement on National Rail's website said disruption to and from Paddington station is expected to continue until 9am this morning.
But passengers are still being advised to check whether their journey is likely to be delayed before travelling.
As pressure mounted on Network Rail, Robin Gisby, managing director of network operations, apologised for disruption which led to extra police being brought in to control crowds.
Video:Probe Launched Into Travel Chaos
"I'm deeply sorry for the delays, upset and upheaval caused... to passengers impacted by our overrunning improvement work outside King's Cross," he said.
"We've had an army of 11,000 engineers out over Christmas Day and Boxing Day at 2,000 locations nationwide.
"Over 90% have been completed and handed back to time but I realise this is no consolation for the thousands affected."
Paddington, one of London's busiest stations, was closed for much of Saturday as trains were cancelled or delayed.
Hundreds of passengers intending to use King's Cross were instead rerouted to Finsbury Park station in north London.
