EXPERTS fear terror groups are building a “dirty bomb” containing the fearful flesh-eating Ebola virus and plan to explode it in a UK city.

Britain’s The Sun newspaper reports fears of such a devastating attack have been raised by Dr Peter Walsh, a biological anthropologist from Cambridge University.

He told The Sun there was a “serious risk is that a group manages to harness the virus as a powder, then explodes it in a bomb in a highly populated public area. It could cause a large number of horrific deaths.”

While all samples of the Ebola virus in a handful of advanced research facilities around the are tightly guarded, it would be possible that terrorist groups could get samples of infected material direct from West Africa — home of the feared Boko Haram Islamic extremist group.

“It is a threat that is taken very seriously,” Dr Walsh said.

More than 800 people have died in West Africa during the current outbreak. Since the virus emerged in 1976 it has killed two thirds of those infected.

What is Ebola? Ebola virus disease is a severe and often fatal illness. There is no specific treatment and outbreaks have a mortality rate of up to 90%.

EBOLA ALERT AT UK GATWICK AIRPORT

Airport staff have told the UK’s Mirror newspaper of their fears after a passenger travelling from Sierra Leone collapsed and died at Gatwick Airport on Saturday.

The 72-year-old woman is said to have collapsed as the disembarked from the aircraft which had arrived from Freetown, Sierra Leone, with 128 passengers on-board.

She has since tested negative for the virus, UK health officials state.

Sierra Leone is the country with the highest reported number of victims of the feared disease.

An airport worker told The Mirror: “The woman was sweating buckets and vomiting.

“Paramedics arrived to try and help her. The next thing everybody was there … emergency crews, airfield operations, even immigration. “They closed down the jet bridge and put the aircraft into quarantine.”

EXPERIMENTAL SYRUM

An American doctor infected with Ebola was given an experimental antibody serum before flying to the US, according to aid group Samaritan’s Purse.

Dr Kent Brantly, 33, was evacuated after contracting the virus while treating infected patients in a clinic in Liberia.

American missionary nurse Nancy Writebol, who was also infected last month, will arrive in the US tomorrow.

Dr Brantly is currently undergoing treatment in Atlanta, Georgia, after arriving at Emory University Hospital on Saturday.

Clad in a white biosuit, Brantly was seen walking gingerly into the facility, which has a cutting edge isolation unit used to treat victims of infectious diseases.

“It’s encouraging that he seems to be improving. That’s really important, and we’re hoping he’ll continue to improve,” said Tom Frieden, the director of the Atlanta-based Centers for Disease Control.

“But Ebola is such a scary disease because it’s so deadly,” he added, speaking on CBS’s Face the Nation.

While Dr Brantly was given an unknown serum, there is no known cure for deadly Ebola.

His wife Amber Brantly was able to visit with him for the first since he became ill.

“We are very grateful to the staff at Emory University Hospital, who have been so nice and welcoming to us. I was able to see Kent today,” Amber Brantly told ABC News.

“He is in good spirits. He thanked everyone for their prayers and asked for continued prayer for Nancy Writebol’s safe return and full recovery.”

“The plain fact is, we can stop it. We can stop it from spreading in hospitals and we can stop it in Africa,” Frieden said.

“In fact, we have stopped every previous outbreak, and I’m confident we can stop this one,” he said.

“But it’s going to be hard because it’s spread through so many countries and there’s such a risk of further spread in Africa,” he said.

TREATMENT: KENT BRANTLY WALKS INTO HOSPITAL

Brantly’s wife Amber asked for people to pray for her husband’s recovery and that of those stricken with the virus in Liberia.

“I spoke with him, and he is glad to be back in the US. I am thankful to God for his safe transport and for giving him the strength to walk into the hospital,” she said in a statement.