Second Scottish Ebola scare patient gets all-clear

A woman who had been taken to Aberdeen Royal Infirmary amid fears she was suffering from the Ebola virus was given the all-clear late on Tuesday night.

Woman at Aberdeen Royal Infirmary for Ebola tests. Picture: SWNS

A patient who was placed in isolation at the Royal Cornwall Hospital in Treliske, Truro, also tested negative.

The patient in Scotland was transferred to hospital by ambulance after falling ill while visiting Torridon in the Highlands, but tested negative for Ebola.

She had complained of feeling unwell and had recently returned from Sierra Leone. However, she is not believed to have come into contact with anyone who had contracted Ebola.

She was taken to Aberdeen Royal’s infection unit from Torridon Youth Hostel. Health officials wearing protective clothing arrived to collect the unnamed woman, who is a healthcare worker.

Blood samples taken on route at the ambulance bay at Raigmore Hospital in Inverness were flown to Edinburgh Royal Infirmary for testing.

However, from the start, First Minister Nicola Sturgeon stressed that the case was being treated as “low probability.” The woman was understood to be among a party of 30 who had hired the hostel. It is not known if isolation measures were put in place for other guests.

A spokeswoman for NHS Grampian said: “The risk to the general public of contracting Ebola in Scotland remains very low.”

It is understood the patient in Truro had also returned from a country affected by an outbreak of the virus. Samples were sent to the Porton Down research centre in Wiltshire. A Public Health England spokeswoman said: “The result is negative and the patient is being discharged.”