British Foreign Office officials are investigating reports that a British national has died in Macedonia of suspected Ebola.

If confirmed it would be the first death of a UK national from Ebola.

• Cairns nurse Ebola result later today

British nurse Will Pooley was cured of the deadly virus last month.

The latest news came as Downing Street said enhanced screening for Ebola will be introduced at Heathrow and Gatwick Airports and Eurostar terminals following advice from the Chief Medical Officer.

“Enhanced screening will initially be implemented at London’s Heathrow and Gatwick airports and Eurostar terminals,” the government said in a statement on Thursday.

It said this would include researching passengers’ recent travel history “as well as a possible medical assessment, conducted by trained medical personnel rather than border force staff”.

“These measures will help to improve our ability to detect and isolate Ebola cases,” it said, adding: “It is important to remember that the overall risk to the public in the UK continues to be very low”.

The government said this would offer “an additional level of protection” on top of screening of passengers boarding planes in Guinea, Liberia and Sierra Leone.

“However, it is important to stress that given the nature of this disease, no system could offer 100 per cent protection from non-symptomatic cases,” it added.