A British doctor who contracted Ebola while working in the Democratic Republic of the Congo has returned home to receive specialized treatment.

Nov. 6 (UPI) -- A British doctor who contracted Ebola while working in the Democratic Republic of the Congo has returned home to receive specialized treatment, Britain's Department of Health and Social Care said Thursday.

The patient is receiving care in a high-level isolation unit at the Royal Free Hospital in London, the health department said, adding that the unit is highly specialized and specifically designed for such a purpose.

"UKHSA and the NHS have well-established and robust infection prevention and control protocols to limit the risk of onward transmission," Dr. Renu Bindra, deputy director for All Hazards Public Health Response at UK Health Security Agency, said in a statement, adding that "the risk to the wider public remains low."

Britain worked with the DRC government, as well as other international health partners, to return the doctor on a medical evacuation flight.

"The journey followed established infection prevention and control procedures, which also apply to everyone involved in the individual's care," the Department of Health and Social Care said.

The evacuation comes as the DRC combats a growing outbreak of Ebola caused by the rare and severe Bundibugyo virus.

The earliest suspected case was a healthcare worker in the DRC who developed symptoms in late April and subsequently died. The DRC government declared an outbreak on May 15.

Since then, there have been more than 10,660 cases and 5,198 deaths in the DRC as of Tuesday, with infections also confirmed in Kenya, Nigeria and Uganda as well as France, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

The British doctor who contracted Ebola amid the current outbreak is the first confirmed British case to be evacuated to Britain since it began. France's single case was a doctor who was returning from a humanitarian mission in late June.

Uganda has declared itself Ebola-free after its last patient was released from care on July 16.

"I commend the authorities of the Democratic Republic of the Congo and the United Kingdom for their exemplary cooperation in facilitating the safe medical evacuation of a patient with #Ebola disease caused by Bundibugyo vires for specialized care," Mohamed Janabi, the World Health Organization's regional director for Africa, said in a social media statement.

"While the patient continues to receive treatment in the UK, the DRC health authorities remain fully vigilant. Contact tracing, surveillance and other public health measures are ongoing to monitor and contain any potential risk of further transmission."