No suspected Ebola case in Hong Kong

HONG KONG—Hong Kong’s health chief has denied that doctors in the former British Crown colony had been treating the first possible case of Ebola.

Secretary for Food and Health Ko Wing-man Wednesday said that so far the health department has not received any reports of suspected Ebola case.

Ko said this in response to a media report that a Hong Kong woman returning from a two-week stay in eastern Kenya had exhibited symptoms of the deadly virus, which has  infected more than 1,300 people since the start of the year and killed more than 720 people in West Africa.

Ko said that there is no direct flight from West Africa but it is possible for virus carriers to come to Hong Kong through transit flights. Suspected cases will be immediately taken to isolation ward in Princess Margaret Hospital.

Kenya, as of Wednesday afternoon, has been spared from the Ebola outbreak that unfolded on the opposite side of the continent. Ko said a patient will not be considered a suspected case without a relevant travel or contact history.

Health officials worldwide are on alert after a US citizen working for the Liberian government was allowed to board two continental flights in Africa despite exhibiting Ebola symptoms including vomiting and diarrhea. Authorities are desperately trying to track down dozens of fellow passengers which may have come into contact with the now deceased doctor.

There is no known cure for the virus which is fatal in 90 percent of human cases.

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