The Packet can reveal that two ships are due to dock in Falmouth next month after coming from Ebola hit Sierra Leone.

Falmouth has already found itself at the heart of news coverage of the disease after the RFA Argus set sail from the port on a mercy mission to West Africa.

One of the ships is understood to be the Gypsum Centennial, a self discharging bulk carrier owned by a company called Beltships, currently off Freetown in Sierra Leone, a country at the heart of the outbreak.

The ship is due in November for repair work at A&P after the company won a repair contract.

The second ship has not been named.

The information that the port was expecting ships from countries at the heart of the deadly outbreak came from an anonymous source, who expressed concern over the level of preparation, with questions raised over whether doctors had been informed, and whether adaquate steps had been taken.

A spokesman for Public Health England said: "Public Health England can confirm it is aware of two ships due to arrive into Falmouth from Sierra Leone in mid-November.

“Updated guidance has been issued to seaports; this guidance is constantly under review and we will look to provide further advice and support to seaports as required.

“As is standard procedure, the captain has a duty to notify the Port Health Authority if anyone on board is unwell.

“Appropriate measures will be planned and taken by Public Health England closer to the arrival of the ships.”

Police in Freetown, Sierra Leone, have fired tear gas as people took to the streets to complain about the authorities' handling of the Ebola virus.

They were angry that the bodies of people who died from the disease were being left on the street for days.

The Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO) advise against all but essential travel to Sierra Leone, except for those involved in the direct response to the Ebola outbreak, due to the narrow commercial options for flights and the impact of the outbreak on medical facilities.

General medical facilities throughout Sierra Leone are currently under severe strain due to the Ebola outbreak, and are unable to provide the same standard of healthcare as in the UK. Dedicated healthcare facilities for Ebola are overwhelmed. 

On 30 July, President Koroma declared a State of Public Emergency. This is ongoing.

Ebola is a rare but serious viral infection, spread person to person by direct contact with blood and body fluids of infected people. It does not transmit through the air.

The incubation period is 2-21 days and there is negligible risk of transmission during the incubation period (i.e. before symptoms appear). Ebola virus is easily killed by soap or bleach and survives only a short time on dry surfaces or those exposed to sunlight.

Ebola virus is not spread through routine, social contact (such as shaking hands) with asymptomatic individuals. The likelihood of contracting any viral haemorrhagic fever (VHF), including Ebola, is considered very low unless there has been a specific exposure.

Ebola transmission has commonly been between family members with close contact to infected individuals and health care workers with extremely close contact to patients or body fluids. Infection occurs from direct contact (through broken skin or mucous membranes) with the blood, or other body fluids (such as stool, urine, saliva, semen) of infected people.

As with other infectious diseases, one of the most important preventive measures is frequent hand-washing with soap and water, or use alcohol-based hand rubs containing at least 60 percent alcohol when soap and water aren't available.

However, it is important to remember that if hands are visibly soiled, then alcohol hand rubs are not sufficient and washing with soap and water is needed.