Malawi ebola screening on 244 Ilala passengers come back negative at Nkhatabay hospital

Nkatabay, Malawi, January 26 (MaraviPost):Ebola results following mandatory screening conducted on 244 people at the Nkhatabay District hospital have come back negative, officials have said.

“Intensive screening for ebola on people who had disembarked from the MV Ilala came out negative for the virus” District Heath Officer for Nkhata Bay Dr. Albert Mkandawire said with a sigh of relief during a press briefing.

We reported yesterday that there were heightened fears among people living in Malawi’s tourist district of Nkhatabay following reports that a Mozambican national suspected of showing Ebola signs had been quarantined at the district’s hospital.

Reports indicated that the alleged patient had boarded MV Ilala motor ship at Cobue port in Mozambique. He reportedly started showing signs and symptoms of the disease as the ship was half way through the lake.

This forced the ship authorities to wait until they reached Nkhatabay port. Unconfirmed reports indicated that by the time the ship arrived at Nkhatabay, two other people had developed the signs.

While the suspected patients were being examined, health authorities in the district embarked on a mandatory ebola screening exercise for all those were in the ship.