No evidence that Ivory Coast patient had Ebola virus, says WHO
- The initial positive test led Ivory Coast to declare its first Ebola outbreak in more than 25 years. Ebola typically kills about half of those it infects
- ‘WHO considers that the patient did not have Ebola virus disease and further analysis on the cause of her illness is ongoing,’ the WHO said
New testing has found no evidence that the woman in Ivory Coast who tested positive earlier this month for Ebola actually had the virus, the World Health Organization (WHO) said on Tuesday.
“WHO considers that the patient did not have Ebola virus disease and further analysis on the cause of her illness is ongoing,” it said in a statement.
The positive result was found by a lab in Ivory Coast but subsequent testing in France came back negative, WHO said.
The initial test led Ivory Coast on August 14 to declare its first Ebola outbreak in more than 25 years. The woman had travelled to Ivory Coast’s commercial capital Abidjan from northern Guinea, hundreds of miles away.
More than 140 of the woman’s contact were listed in Guinea and Ivory Coast but none of them developed symptoms or tested positive, WHO said.
Ebola typically kills about half of those it infects, although vaccines and new treatments have proved highly effective in reducing fatality rates.
