Two children being tested for Ebola in Newcastle after arriving in UK from Africa

Public Health England said it was 'unlikely' that they were infected

Two children are being tested for Ebola in Newcastle after arriving in the UK from Africa.

Public Health England did not confirm which country they had travelled to or whether it was affected by the disease but said they were also being screened for malaria.

The results are expected later today and the children, said to be showing viral symptoms, are in the Infectious Diseases Isolation Unit at the Royal Victoria Infirmary.

Staff from from the Royal Victoria Infirmary, Newcastle, took part in national drills to prepare for Ebola earlier this year (PA)

It is one of three units outside London prepared to care for patients with Ebola and other high-risk illnesses.

A spokesperson for Public Health England in the North East said it is “unlikely” they are infected and were being tested as a precaution.

“Due to uncertainty about where in Africa the children are from and when they arrived in the UK, as a precaution the children are being tested for Ebola and malaria,” he added.

"However the clinical and PHE risk assessment is that Ebola is unlikely. People who have been in contact with the children have been advised to continue as normal."

The Ebola outbreak in West Africa has killed almost 5,700 people in the worst-affected countries of Liberia, Sierra Leone and Guinea.

Of the 100 people tested in the UK for the virus, all of them have received the all-clear and only patients diagnosed abroad have been treated in the country.

Additional reporting by PA