In a follow-up to a story on a suspect Ebola Virus Disease (EVD) in a Brazilian man who returned from Guinea, health officials report (computer translated) that the first Ebola test was negative; however, he did test positive for malaria.
According to international protocols, confirmation of the diagnosis can only take place after carrying out a second examination. The collection of new blood sample will be held and the new result should come out on Saturday.
The 46-year-old man remains hospitalized in Rio de Janeiro and is being treated for the parasitic infection.
Until the final confirmation of the result, all people who had contact with the patient continue to be monitored. If the second test a negative result, the patient will be taken out of isolation and 95 contacts are no longer monitored.
Robert Herriman is a microbiologist and the Editor-in-Chief of Outbreak News Today and the Executive Editor of The Global Dispatch
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