Jovanka Kostovska, from Macedonia’s Commission for Infective Diseases, said on Saturday that the results from the referent laboratory from Germany showed that the Briton Colin Jeffrey, whose death on Thursday triggered panic of Ebola outbreak, did not die of Ebola.

“Even though we were convinced that Ebola was not the cause of death, we were obliged to react according to the international protocols for such a dangerous disease”, said Kostovska.

On Friday, Kostovska downplayed earlier reports that he has the deadly Ebola virus but said final confirmation had to come from Germany.

Authorities said the 35 people that were in quarantine were released on Saturday. Twenty five of them, including one baby, were in quarantine at the hotel Super 8, where Jeffrey stayed before his health condition worsened.

The other 10 people, who had contact with the deceased, mostly medical personnel, stayed at the Clinic for Infectious Diseases for two days.

The cause of death of the Briton will be known after an autopsy is conducted.



Earlier this week a Spanish nurse became the first person to contract the deadly virus outside of West Africa.

Medical experts have described the Ebola outbreak in West Africa as unlike anything seen since the emergence of HIV/Aids.

It started in Guinea and has since spread to other West African countries, sparking fears of a worldwide epidemic.

The disease is untreatable and is transmitted by bodily fluids, with initial symptoms of fever, muscle ache, weakness and headaches, which can lead to failure of the internal organs and death.

About 90 per cent of those suffering from the virus are reported to have died. So far more than 3,860 people have died, mainly in West Africa. More than 200 health workers are among the victims.