A Saudi man who died while showing symptoms similar to Ebola was not
infected with the virus, according to initial test results cited by
health authorities on Saturday.
The health ministry announced Wednesday that the man had died of a heart attack.
The ministry has received a "preliminary laboratory result" from
Atlanta showing that the man had tested negative for Ebola, it said in
a statement carried by the official SPA news agency.
The "same US laboratories will carry out further precise and developed
tests to ensure the absence of other viruses that could cause
haemorrhagic fever," the symptoms the man had upon his return from
Sierra Leone, the ministry said.
It is awaiting results of testing in Germany in the same case.
Since breaking out earlier this year, the tropical virus has claimed
almost 900 lives and infected more than 1,603 people across West
Africa.
The Saudi case was announced Tuesday by the health ministry, which
said the patient had been quarantined in hospital in the Red Sea city
of Jeddah.
In April, Saudi Arabia announced a ban on visas for Muslims from the
three West African nations of Guinea, Liberia and Sierra Leone wishing
to perform the pilgrimage to its Muslim holy sites.
World Health Organisation (WHO) chief Margaret Chan, declaring the
epidemic a global health emergency, said in Geneva Friday it was the
worst of its kind in four decades.
Ebola causes severe fever and, in the worst cases, unstoppable
bleeding. It is transmitted through close contact with bodily fluids,
and people who live with or care for patients are most at risk.
AFP
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