Health Ministry: All nine suspected Ebola patients tested negative

the star

BY LOH FOON FONG

PUTRAJAYA: All nine people suspected of being infected with Ebola have tested negative for the deadly disease, said Health Minister Datuk Seri Dr S. Subramaniam.

He said that diagnostic tests conducted on clinical samples of the nine patients had returned negative results.

The nine had arrived in Malaysia from West Africa with fevers.

“The Ministry personnel at all levels, including at international entry points, are continuously briefed on the guidelines for the management of cases suspected of being infected,” Subramaniam said at a press conference on the Health Ministry’s Ebola preparedness plan, Friday.

He said up to Oct 12, 8,973 Ebola cases and 4,484 deaths had been reported to the World Health Organisation (WHO). The figures include suspected, probable and confirmed cases.

The countries with Ebola outbreaks are Guinea, Liberia and Sierra Leone.

Countries with localised transmission, namely Nigeria, Senegal, the United States and Spain, have reported a total of 24 cases with nine deaths.

Ongoing active surveillance, being conducted in Nigeria and Senegal, have shown that all contacts had completed the 21 days of monitoring and no new cases had been reported, he said.

Until now, the WHO has not recommended any travel or trade restrictions except in cases where individuals had been confirmed or were suspected of being infected or had contact with Ebola cases.

However, Subramaniam advised Malaysians to avoid going to countries with the outbreak.