Volunteers receive Ebola medal for work in Sierra Leone
The team had access to diagnostic laboratories set-up by Public Health England.
Volunteers from the Animal Health and Plant Health Agency (APHA) have been bestowed the Ebola medal for their work in Sierra Leone.
The volunteers acted in response to a call from the Government, who issued a plea in October 2014 for experienced scientists to help with the mounting humanitarian crisis in West Africa.
In just one week the volunteers were trained and flown out to work in the country as part of a larger team of scientists and healthcare specialists.
Working at treatment centres at two British-built sites, the team had access to diagnostic laboratories set-up by Public Health England.
Chris Hadkiss, APHA chief executive, who presented some of the volunteers with their medals, commented: “To volunteer to travel to an Ebola infected country, in support of the humanitarian work, was an incredibly selfless act and I commend everyone’s bravery and dedication.
“It is thanks to the efforts of all these volunteers, working alongside local healthcare workers that so many areas have been declared Ebola free and so many lives have been saved.”
Approved by Her Majesty The Queen, the Ebola medal was awarded to military and civilian personnel who supported the government’s response to the Ebola crisis that began in 2014.
Other recipients of the medal of the medal include doctors and nurses from the NHS, scientists and public health specialists, members of the civil service, non-governmental organisations and armed forces personnel.
Defra has published guidance for the vet sector ahead of a proposed UK-EU Sanitary and Phytosanitary agreement.
