Initial blood test shows Polish man does not have Ebola virus

WARSAW - An initial blood test on a man in Poland suspected of being infected with Ebola showed he does not have the virus, a health official said on Tuesday.

The 31-year old man was hospitalised in the city of Lodz, central Poland, after reporting Ebola-like symptoms and saying that on a visit to Germany he had come into contact with people from Guinea, in west Africa, where the virus is present.

"Samples of the patient's blood are now being tested. I know the first sample gave a negative result (for the presence of Ebola), but two samples are always tested," said Jan Bondar, spokesman for Poland's Chief Sanitary Inspectorate.

"I think that we should get the final result about noon," he said. Polish health officials have said it was unlikely the man could have been infected with Ebola and that they were carrying out the tests on him purely as a precaution.