New test results show “no evidence” that a woman who tested positive for the Ebola virus in Cote d’Ivoire actually had the disease, the World Health Organization said Tuesday.
"WHO considers that the patient did not have Ebola virus disease and further analysis on the cause of her illness is ongoing," the global health body said in a statement.
In August, the Pasteur Institute in Cote d’Ivoire confirmed the first case of Ebola in the country in over 25 years.
Reports say the woman had travelled to Abidjan, Cote d’Ivoire’s largest city, from northern Guinea.
#CotedIvoire🇨🇮 has informed @WHO that a second laboratory has tested samples from a patient suspected of having #Ebola & has found no evidence of the virus.
— WHO African Region (@WHOAFRO) August 31, 2021
WHO is now downgrading its actions in Cote d’Ivoire from response to readiness mode. https://t.co/2UHBE4D3aU
No one the woman came into contact with in Guinea or Cote d’Ivoire developed symptoms of Ebola.
The woman was then declared cured of the disease on 24 August.
French lab test
However on Tuesday the health Ministry in Abidjan also confirmed that a second laboratory test in Lyon, France, had found no sign of the disease.
The government of the west African nation said it had now eliminated Cote d’Ivoire from the list of countries with Ebola.
The virus is transmitted through direct contact with the blood or bodily fluids, and kills about half of the people it infects.
New vaccines and treatments, however, have proven effective in reducing death rates.
