British miner evacuates S. Leone staff over Ebola fears

Health workers wear protective suits walk in an isolation center for people infected with Ebola at Donka Hospital in Conakry on April 14, 2014. By Cellou Binani (AFP/File)

London (AFP) - British mining operation London Mining said Tuesday it had evacuated "non-essential" staff from Sierra Leone due to the highly contagious Ebola virus gripping west Africa.

London Mining said it was not aware of any incidences of the disease among its workforce or in the communities surrounding the Marampa iron ore mine in northern Sierra Leone.

However, "following consultation with the relevant authorities, the company has imposed restrictions on travel in the region," the firm said in a statement.

"A number of non-essential personnel have left the country due to voluntary restrictions on non-essential travel."

Impoverished Sierra Leone last week confirmed its first deaths from Ebola in the eastern regions of Kailahun and Kenema, near the border with Guinea, the epicentre of the outbreak.

The virus is one of the deadliest known to man, with more than 100 confirmed deaths from the disease in west Africa since January.

London Mining said it was screening all staff and visitors entering its sites and had medication and equipment to manage any potential occurrences of the disease.

"Production at Marampa is not currently affected," the firm said.

The tropical virus can fell its victims within days, causing severe fever and muscle pain, weakness, vomiting and diarrhoea -- in some cases shutting down organs and causing unstoppable bleeding.