Dutch hospital admits patient with ‘low suspicion’ of Ebola

This undated colorized transmission electron micrograph image made available by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) shows an Ebola virus virion. (Frederick Murphy/CDC via AP)

A hospital in The Netherlands said Friday it had admitted a patient with a “low suspicion” of Ebola, adding that diagnostic results would emerge over the weekend.

The patient has been placed in a specialized isolation unit for observation, testing and treatment, according to the Radboud University Hospital.

The hospital, located in Nijmegen, in the east of the country, gave no details about the patient or recent travels.

Radboud hit the headlines on May 11 when 12 of its staff treating a hantavirus-positive evacuee from the MV Hondius cruise ship had to go into preventative quarantine.

Procedural errors were made in taking blood and disposing of the patient’s urine.

Earlier Friday, the World Health Organization upgraded its risk assessment for the Democratic Republic of Congo to its highest level, as the death toll from the outbreak there climbed.

Describing the situation as “deeply worrisome,” WHO chief Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said there were now nearly 750 suspected cases in the DR Congo and 177 suspected deaths.