Journalists stand in front of the main entrance of the Lazzaro Spallanzani Institute in Rome on November 25, 2014. — AFP pic

ROME, Nov 29 — The health of an Italian doctor who contracted Ebola in west Africa is deteriorating, the specialist clinic in Rome treating him said today.

The 50-year-old infectious diseases medic — who has not been publicly identified — was repatriated on Tuesday from Sierra Leone with a fever and given an experimental drug to try to combat the often-deadly virus.

But since yesterday there has been a “progressive aggravation” of the man’s condition, the Lazzaro Spallanzani Institute treating him said in a statement.

“He has started to have gastro-intestinal problems (nausea, vomiting and diarrhoea). He has a high fever, currently over 39° Celsius,” it said.

The doctor — who became the first Italian to be infected with Ebola while working for an Italian medical association fighting the epidemic in Africa — was not showing signs of bleeding at this stage, however.

Ebola, a disease transmitted through the bodily fluids of infected people, can result in death from uncontrollable bleeding and organ failure. The current Ebola epidemic in west Africa — the worst ever recorded — has so far killed around 5,700 people. — AFP