( CNN ) -- Ivory Coast announced Saturday that it 's closing its borders in response to the Ebola outbreak in West Africa . Prime Minister Daniel Duncan signed the order that closes the land borders Ivory Coast shares with Guinea and Liberia . The borders will remain closed until further notice in an effort to prevent the Ebola virus from spreading into its territory , according to the government statement . The announcement comes the same day the British government announced one of its citizens was infected with the deadly virus . The Briton , who lives in the West African nation of Sierra Leone , tested positive for the Ebola virus , according to Britain 's Department of Health . The man , simply identified as `` William , '' was living in a home established by an American university for researchers in Sierra Leone . `` William '' was a volunteer nurse in Kenema Government Hospital and was working with Ebola patients in the hospital , according to Dr. Robert Garry of Tulane University . Garry is manager of the university 's program that researches Ebola . The hospital is run by the government of Sierra Leone , but receives support from Tulane researchers . Garry said that no one else living in the house was `` significantly exposed '' and `` William '' is still in Sierra Leone . According to the Tulane doctor , `` William '' got sick on Friday and had a low viral load , meaning he was n't infected for a long time . Garry added that the British national has a fever but none of the other symptoms of the Ebola virus . In a statement on the United Kingdom 's government website Saturday , British Chief Deputy Medical Officer John Watson said the overall risk to the public in the UK is very low . Medical experts are `` assessing the situation in Sierra Leone to ensure that appropriate care is provided , '' Watson said . Ebola is one of the world 's most virulent diseases , according to the World Health Organization . The virus is introduced to human populations through the human handling of infected animals -- like fruit bats , gorillas and monkeys , to name a few -- found sick or dying in the rainforest . The infection is then transmitted among humans through direct contact with the blood and bodily fluid of infected people . WHO 's maps of confirmed cases show the Ebola outbreak is limited to four West African nations -- Liberia , Sierra Leone , Guinea and Nigeria . So far , nearly 2,500 suspected cases have been reported in what the WHO says is the worst known outbreak of the disease . However , the WHO 's website says the survival rate for people with Ebola in this outbreak has been 47 % , which is a substantial improvement over the disease 's survival rate , historically . CNN 's Aliza Kassim and Carma Hassan contributed to this report .
Ivory Coast is closing its borders with Guinea and Liberia , two countries dealing with an Ebola outbreak . The borders will be closed to prevent the Ebola virus spreading into Ivory Coast . Briton living in Sierra Leone tests positive for the Ebola virus . The patient was a volunteer nurse working with Ebola patients .