RFA Argus Leaving for Sierra Leone

RFA Argus will leave British shores today to tackle the Ebola outbreak in West Africa. A team of 750 military personnel are expected to reach Sierra Leone by November, with the ship set to leave its moorings in Falmouth Docks, Cornwall, around lunchtime.

RFA Argus is expected to sail at high water loaded with three Merlin helicopters and a crew of around 350, including 80 medics and 80 Royal Marines. The personnel will be subjected to ''tough'' regulations while aboard the ship, the captain has said. Strict rules to keep the ship ''sterile'' from Ebola include banning personnel from going ashore on leave during up to three months of deployment.

Royal Marines who leave the RFA Argus for operations in the local community will go through a decontamination process upon their return. Medics will take their temperatures twice a day and anyone who shows signs of Ebola will be flown to a British treatment clinic in Kerry Town. Captain David Eagles, 52, of the Royal Fleet Auxiliary, admitted the measures were ''tough'' but necessary to safeguard against Ebola.

Meanwhile, British Army medics have already begun arriving in Sierra Leone to help with the battle against the disease. A team of 91, including nurses, doctors and infectious disease consultants, will join 40 soldiers already in the west African country to work at a UK-supported treatment centre, which has 12 of its 92 beds set aside for healthcare workers who risk infection while treating others.