- She went to hospital in Tooting, south London, with a high temperature
- Underwent ‘series of tests’ at St George’s Hospital today, officials say
- Patient was treated in isolation in hospital’s clinical infections unit
- Health authorities have now confirmed the patient had tested negative
Mark Duell
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Richard Spillett for MailOnline
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A woman who feared she may have Ebola has tested negative for the deadly virus at a hospital in south London, health officials have confirmed.
The patient, who has a history of travel to West Africa, went to St George’s Hospital in Tooting last night complaining of a fever.
A Public Health England (PHE) spokesman said today that test results for the disease had come back negative.
The patient was kept in isolation and was closely monitored overnight in line with national guidelines for handling the outbreak. She will continue to stay in hospital.
Scroll down for videoÂ
Treatment: The patient presented herself to St George’s Hospital (pictured) in Tooting, south London, last night with a high temperature. After telling staff she had visited west Africa, she was tested for Ebola
A spokesman for St George’s Healthcare NHS Trust said: ‘An unwell patient who had recently travelled to West Africa was admitted to St George’s Hospital yesterday.
‘In line with national guidance the patient was moved to our clinical infections unit and underwent a series of tests, as a precaution one of which was for Ebola.
‘The outcome of the Ebola test result is negative. We can confirm that the patient will remain at St George’s Hospital.
‘All appropriate actions have been taken by our staff to protect the public and the patient.’
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A PHE spokesman said: ‘It is important to remember that as yet, there has not been a case of Ebola diagnosed in the UK and the infection can only be transmitted through contact with the bodily fluids – such as blood, vomit or faeces – of an infected person.
‘We have advised all front line medical practitioners and NHS call handlers to be alert to signs and symptoms of Ebola in those returning from affected areas and following such advice we would expect to see an increase in testing.’
He said PHE would not confirm how many people have been tested for the virus in the UK since the outbreak in West Africa.Â
FEVER, HEADACHE, PAINS AND WEAKNESS: SYMPTOMS OF EBOLAÂ
A person infected with Ebola virus will typically develop a fever, a headache, joint and muscle pain, a sore throat, and intense muscle weakness.Â
These symptoms start suddenly between two and 21 days after becoming infected.
Diarrhoea, vomiting, a rash, stomach pain and impaired kidney and liver function follow. The patient then bleeds internally, and may also bleed from the ears, eyes, nose or mouth.
Ebola virus disease is fatal in 50 to 90 per cent of cases. The sooner a person is given care, the better the chances that they will survive.
Source: NHS Choices
Earlier today, visitors to the hospital told how sections of the building were cordoned off while the tests took place. Â
A visitor, who popped out of the hospital to phone a relative after her father was taken to AE, said that, when she returned, the corridor was blocked and staff were not letting people through.
The woman, who did not wish to be named, said: ‘When I went back in, the AE section was closed off with a big sign saying “do not enter†with staff standing nearby to make sure no-one got through.
‘I heard someone saying something about a woman having Ebola.
‘I was worried as I had to get back to my dad and the corridor was now blocked. AE is split into major and minor and it was the major that was cordoned off.’
Map of the location: The patient was treated in isolation at St George’s Hospital in Tooting, south London
A spokesman for the hospital later said the patient had tested negative for Ebola but would remain in its care
A Public Health England spokesman said this morning: ‘PHE can confirm it will undertake precautionary tests relating to a patient presently at St George’s Hospital in Tooting, who has a history of travel to West Africa.
‘Ebola is considered unlikely but testing is being done as a precaution, as is our usual practice in these circumstances. We are confident that all appropriate actions are being taken to protect the public’s health.’
It comes after the head of a leading charity said yesterday that the Ebola crisis in west Africa is still getting worse. An atmosphere of ‘fear and anxiety’ pervades the region, Save the Children chief executive Justin Forsyth said on a trip to Freetown in Sierra Leone.
So far, almost 5,000 people have been killed by the virus and more than 13,000 have been infected, although experts say the real figures could be much higher.
William Pooley, 19, of Suffolk – who had been working as a nurse in Sierra Leone – was the first confirmed Briton to contract Ebola and was flown home in August to be treated in a specially-adapted unit at the Royal Free Hospital in Hampstead, north-west London.
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