Country reports test for Ebola negative

Health Watch

The government of Cote d’Ivoire has informed the World Health Organisation (WHO) that a second laboratory has tested samples from a patient suspected of having Ebola and has found no evidence of the virus.
The tests by the Institut Pasteur in Lyon, France, followed tests conducted by the Institut Pasteur of Cote d’Ivoire, which led health authorities to announce their first Ebola case since 1994.
With the new results from the laboratory in Lyon, the WHO considered that the patient did not have Ebola virus and further analysis on the cause of her illness was ongoing.
The suspected case was a young woman who travelled from Guinea to Cote d’Ivoire.
Since Cote d’Ivoire announced the case, more than 140 contacts have been listed in the two countries.
No-one had shown symptoms for the disease or tested positive for Ebola.
Ebola is a severe, often fatal illness affecting humans and other primates.
Case fatality rates have varied from 25 per cent to 90 per cent in past outbreaks.
To prevent the spread of Ebola, it is important to act urgently.
Cote d’Ivoire health authorities alerted the WHO of the case as required by the international health regulations 2005 and rapidly launched all key public health measures. – WHO