BANGKOK, Aug 25 — A woman suspected of contracting the Ebola disease virus (EVD) was discharged from hospital here today after she was confirmed to be free of it.
The Ministry of Public Health discharged the 48-year-old Thai woman this afternoon with a clean bill of health as the latest blood test assured that she was not infected with the EVD.
Regarding the case of the woman who had returned from Liberia, Dr Supamit Choonhasutthiwat, an expert of the Department of Disease Control, said her blood sample was collected yesterday and the second blood test confirmed that she was not carrying the contagious disease and was free of illness herself.
Dr Opas Karnkavinpong, deputy director-general of the department, said 2,615 people had been infected with the EVD and 1,421 of them had died. The outbreak continues in Guinea, Sierra Leone and Liberia as well as in Lagos, Nigeria.
In Liberia, authorities returned the patients who had escaped back to a controlled system for treatment. In addition, two EVD patients were reported in Congo but their disease is of a Sudan virus that is less harmful than the Zaire virus that is spreading in the three countries and the city.
Ebola is considered an indigenous disease of Africa and the World Health Organization had not issued a warning about it in the Congo.
Although the disease has not been spotted in Thailand, the authorities here are taking precautions to prevent it, including screening measures at international airports.
