Update, 6.32pm:

 

A Danish Doctors without Borders employee who checked in to Hvidore Hospital under the suspicion of having contracted Ebola in west Africa tested negative for the virus, an initial blood test performed by the Danish State Serum institute revealed. Hvidore Hospital will perform one additional test on Friday morning before ruling with 100 percent certainty that the patient is negative, the hospital said in a press release. 

 

“New findings show that a few days can pass from when the symptoms first appear until viruses can be detected in tests. Therefore, we will maintain emergency precautions for 24 hours and have another test taken to be completely on the safe side,” hospital spokesman Torben Mogensen said. 

 

Original, 1.20pm:

 

A patient was admitted to Hvidore Hospital on Thursday for suspicion of having the Ebola virus, according to the Danish Health and Medicines Authority (Sundhedsstyrelsen). 

 

“Hvidore Hospital has admitted a patient to clarify a possible Ebola infection and is dealing with the patient under Sundhedsstyrelsen’s guidelines for the handling of the Ebola virus until the diagnosis can be disproved or confirmed,” the agency said in a statement. 

 

A blood sample from the patient has been sent to the Danish State Serum Institute and health officials say the results will come back later on Thursday. 

 

 

Hvidore Hospital, which is located in the suburban Copenhagen area, was the site of a previous Ebola scare earlier this month after another patient who had been in west Africa displayed symptoms consistent with Ebola. Hospital staff isolated the individual, but within a few hours doctors were able to rule out an infection.  

 

There was also a false Ebola alarm on Tuesday at a Copenhagen police station. In that instance, an African man who had recently been in Nigeria was brought into Station City and displayed symptoms “that the police couldn’t rule out” were consistent with Ebola. A doctor was called to the scene and quickly determined that the man did not have the virus. 

 

The Local will have more on the current Ebola scare as soon as more information becomes available.