Italian nurse tests positive for Ebola

A health care worker prepares a colleague's Ebola virus protective gear at an Ebola virus clinic operated by the International Medical Corps in Makeni, Sierra Leone. Picture: Michael Duff

A health care worker prepares a colleague's Ebola virus protective gear at an Ebola virus clinic operated by the International Medical Corps in Makeni, Sierra Leone. Picture: Michael Duff

Published May 12, 2015

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Rome - An Italian nurse who returned to Italy last week after working in Sierra Leone has tested positive for Ebola, the health ministry said on Tuesday.

The man began to feel unwell on Sunday evening and was taken to a local hospital in Sardinia, two days after coming back from the west African state where he had been treating patients for the often deadly disease.

He will shortly be transferred to Rome's main hospital for infectious diseases, the ministry said.

Italy's only other Ebola patient, who had also been working in Sierra Leone, recovered and was released from hospital in January.

More than 11,000 people have died from Ebola in Sierra Leone and neighbours Guinea and Liberia since an outbreak began in December 2013, according to the WHO.

Reuters

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