A British man suspected of contracting the Ebola virus has died in Macedonia, while another Briton has displayed possible symptoms of the virus. A Spanish nurse's condition has worsened as the virus spreads, reports GHN based on DW.
The patient died in a hospital in the Macedonian capital Skopje on Thursday night, but health officials cautioned that an official diagnosis would likely take at least two more days.
"A British citizen on a business trip to Macedonia died," the country's health ministry said in a statement. "Because of his serious health condition at the moment he was admitted to the hospital, including vomiting and internal hemorrhage, as well as because of his sudden death, we believe he might have had symptoms of Ebola."
Samples from the deceased man were dispatched to a German laboratory, with tests expected to ascertain whether he had Ebola within the next 48 hours, according to Macedonia's health ministry.
The British Foreign Office said its employees were "aware of the reports and are looking into them."
Health officials did not name the victim, saying only that he was born in 1956.
A Macedonian government official told the Reuters news agency on condition of anonymity that another Briton had displayed similar symptoms and was also hospitalized. He said that both the men had been staying at a hotel in the capital, and that hotel staff and ambulance crew to come into contact with the men had been placed under quarantine.
The Ebola virus, which spreads through contact with bodily fluids from an infected person, has killed nearly 4,000 people in West Africa this year, the largest outbreak on record.