Zambia says two suspected Ebola cases test negative, steps up screening

Zambia has investigated and cleared two suspected cases of Ebola as it steps up screening and surveillance for the deadly viral disease following an outbreak in neighbouring Democratic Republic of Congo.

Congolese authorities said on Friday suspected cases from the rare Bundibugyo strain of Ebola, for which there is no vaccine, had risen to 1,028.

Zambia's health ministry said late on Friday that there was a high risk of Ebola crossing the border but two suspected cases had been cleared by laboratory tests.

"Zambia has developed screening tools and protocols, which are already being used to screen for Ebola at entry points into Zambia and on people within the country who have Ebola-like symptoms," the ministry added in its statement.

The Bundibugyo strain, named after a Ugandan province where it was first identified nearly 20 years ago, has alarmed experts because of how long it went undetected while spreading across a densely populated area, making it difficult to trace and isolate the contacts of infected individuals. 

According to the World Health Organization, Ebola viruses initially cause flu-like symptoms including fever, fatigue, malaise, muscle pain, headache and sore throat that can start suddenly, followed by vomiting and diarrhoea and eventually by internal and external bleeding and multi-organ failure.

(With input from wires)