Aussie ebola case 'sore throat'
A specialist Melbourne laboratory has confirmed Queensland nurse Sue-Ellen Kovack does not have Ebola.
Dr Julian Druce, Senior Scientist at the Victorian Infectious Diseases Reference Laboratory (VIDRL), said on Saturday that his team had confirmed the negative test carried out on Friday in Queensland. VIDRL, at Melbourne University's Peter Doherty Institute, is the national reference laboratory for viral haemorrhagic fevers like Ebola.
Kovack remains in isolation in Cairns Hospital.
There were fears Kovack could have been Australia's first case of Ebola, given she recently returned from volunteering at hospitals in Sierra Leone - one of the countries hardest hit by the virus that has claimed more than 4000 lives in West Africa.
Kovack isolated herself at home on her return, but reported to authorities she had a low-grade fever, as normal protocol dictates, and was admitted to hospital on Thursday.
A Queensland Health spokesman told AAP on Saturday most of Kovack's symptoms had subsided.
"She still has a bit of a sore throat and is tired, which you could expect given the circumstances," the spokesman said.
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Queensland Health is expected to provide updates on Kovack's condition throughout Sunday.
The Red Cross worker returned from Sierra Leone, via Casablanca and Dubai, then made her way through Perth and Melbourne to Cairns.
But authorities have moved to allay fears Kovack could have spread the virus, which can only be contracted by coming into contact with secretions of an infected person.
On Saturday, Foreign Minister Julie Bishop said Australia will not send government-sponsored health workers to Ebola outbreak zones until their welfare can be guaranteed.
The Australian government has contributed $18 million for equipment and supplies in west Africa since the Ebola outbreak.
Original post from www.stuff.co.nz
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