KUALA LUMPUR: The Zimbabwean student who was quarantined for suspected infection by Ebola virus has been confirmed not to have it, said Health director-general Datuk Dr Noor Hisham Abdullah.
He said the finding was made after laboratory tests were done on clinical samples taken from the student yesterday at the Sungai Buloh National Public Health Laboratory (MKAK) and found to be negative for Ebola virus.
“At present, he is getting better and responding well to treatment,” he said in a statement here last night.
In this regard, Dr Noor Hisham said the Health Ministry reiterated that up till now, there had been no confirmed cases of EVD (Ebola virus disease) in Malaysia.
The Health Ministry would continue to bolster its preparedness to face any possibility of the spread of EVD in the country, he said.
“The Health Ministry through the National Crisis Preparedness and Response Centre (CPRC) will monitor the situation and inform of any development,” he said.
The Zimbabwean student, 24, is being treated at Sarawak General Hospital in Kuching.
Meanwhile in Sibu, Second Finance Minister Dato Sri Wong Soon Koh hoped that the 26-year-old man now being isolated at Sibu Hospital for fear of Ebola infection would soon recover from a common viral infection.
When contacted Wong said the worker who had just returned from Africa was seemingly recovering. He said his fever had gone down.
“However, it is medical procedure to keep him in isolation until his condition improves. He can be discharged if he recovers and when it is confirmed he did not get the Ebola viral infection. It is possible this is not a case of Ebola infection.”
However, Wong said the case should be left to the hospital for further observation.
The timber camp worker from Kapit has moved with his family to Sibu after returning from Africa on Sept 11.
He had fever and nausea on his return.
His family rushed him to the hospital on Saturday night for fear of the dreaded viral infection.
After a check at the hospital, an ambulance sent him to an isolation room for observation.
The hospital immediately sterilised the ambulance soon after transporting him to the ward.
Wong, who is also Minister of Local Government and Community Development, has been concerned with the case and has been briefed by the hospital authority.
He called on the public to stay calm and let the hospital do its work. — Agencies