Nigerian cleared of Ebola virus, say Maldives health officials

阿邱

COLOMBO, Sept. 30 (Xinhua) -- A Nigerian tourist quarantined in Maldives as a precautionary measure has shown no symptoms of the Ebola virus, local media reported on Tuesday.

The Nigerian man was taken from the Foreign Ministry in Male to a quarantine facility in Hulhumale by Maldives National Defense Force (MNDF) officers in protective suits, Health Ministry and Health Protection Agency (HPA) officials said.

HPA Epidemiologist Dr. Aishath Aroona Abdulla said the Foreign Ministry informed health authorities that the Nigerian looked " sick."

"After inspection, the doctor at the Hulhumale hospital said he did not have fever. He is not taking medication for anything at the moment," she said, noting that the most important symptom of Ebola was high fever along with fatigue, headaches and aching joints.

The Nigerian was screened upon arrival in the Maldives and entered into the HPA database. Maldives has begun screening visitors from countries with an Ebola outbreak if they had been in the country for 21 days, which is the incubation period for the deadly virus.

While 109 individuals from countries where the virus has been detected have visited the Maldives so far, only 78 were placed under surveillance, of which 27 were currently in the country.

The resort or guesthouse where the tourist is staying are told to inform the authorities if a guest exhibits symptoms of Ebola.

Nigeria and Senegal are "low-transmission" and "low risk" nations with no new cases reported in the past 21 days.

According to the WHO, more than 3,000 people have died from the Ebola outbreak in West Africa while a total of 6,574 cases have been reported so far.