One of two patients with Ebola-like symptoms tests negative in Brazil

• Brazil monitors two patients from DRC and Uganda for suspected Ebola in Sao Paulo and Rio; initial tests negative, but isolation continues.
• Over 1,000 suspected Ebola cases and nearly 250 deaths reported in DRC; infections also confirmed in neighbouring Uganda, warns Africa CDC.
• Despite suspected cases, Sao Paulo authorities assess Ebola risk to Brazil as "very low"; Rio patient tested positive for malaria, but investigations continue.

BRASILIA - Two patients who recently arrived in Brazil from African countries have been put in isolation after showing symptoms linked to Ebola, officials said, though one later tested negative for the virus.

A 37-year-old man from the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), where the outbreak has been concentrated, “exhibited symptoms such as fever, meeting the definition of a suspected case” of Ebola, the Sao Paulo state government said in a statement on May 30.

The man was placed in isolation at the Emilio Ribas Institute of Infectious Diseases in Sao Paulo.

The patient was diagnosed with a severe form of meningitis and more tests were being conducted to screen for Ebola, officials added on May 31.

Another man was placed in isolation in Rio de Janeiro after arriving from Uganda on May 22 and showing “viral symptoms such as cough, chills and diarrhea”, local officials said.

Rio City Hall told AFP on May 31 that the man had tested positive for malaria, but that the “case remained under investigation.”

On May 31, Brazil’s Ministry of Health said the man’s tests showed “negative results for Ebola”, although he remains in isolation until the investigation is completed.

There have been more than 1,000 suspected cases of Ebola in the DRC since the outbreak was declared on May 15, including nearly 250 deaths, the Africa Centres for Disease Control and Prevention said on May 28.

Several infections and one death have been confirmed in neighbouring Uganda.

However, the true reach of the outbreak in the DRC, which is thought to have been circulating before it was detected, is likely to be much wider, the World Health Organisation has warned.

The Sao Paulo government said that despite the suspected case, “the technical assessment indicates that the risk of the disease being introduced into Brazil and South America remains very low”. AFP