Blood tests of Dutch Ebola suspect in Thailand negative

BANGKOK, September 12 (TNA) - Physicians confirm that blood tests of a Dutch man in Thailand who was suspected of contracting the Ebola virus have shown negative, preliminarily clearing him from the deadly disease, but repeated blood tests will be conducted on September 15 for a final result. Dr. Naruemon Sawanpanyalert, a medical expert at the Ministry of Public Health's Department of Medical Services, and Dr. Opas Karnkawinpong, Deputy Director-General of the ministry's Department of Disease Control, made the confirmation at a press conference in Bangkok on Friday morning, stating that the blood tests of the 52-year-old Dutch suspect, conducted at both Bangkok-based Chulalongkorn Hospital and the ministry's Department of Medical Sciences, showed negative for Ebola but only an ordinary flu and his temperatures have dropped to 37 degrees Celsius. The Dutch man arrived in Thailand from a business trip to Nigeria on September 10, when he passed a thermal scanner intalled at the Suvarnabhumi International Airport without any fever, but he later had a high fever of 39.8 degrees Celsius at night and went for treatment at a private hospital, where he has been quarantined and has his blood tests. According to the doctors, 21 people close to the Dutch suspect have remained under a close watch pending a final result of his repeated blood tests next Monday. Meanwhile, the Geneva-based World Health Organisation (WHO) cautioned that current Ebola outbreaks in western African areas could continue for another 6-9 months, as international campaigns have been continued for assistance to three Ebola-stricken countries of Guinea, Sierra Leone and Liberia. (TNA)