A Ugandan national suspected of having an infection tested negative in Bengaluru

No cases of the deadly Ebola virus have been confirmed so far in India, the Health Ministry has said. India is continuing to conduct screening, surveillance, and precautionary measures, while monitoring the disease's rapid spread in Central Africa, the government-backed-DD Newssaidin a Facebook post.

A Ugandan national who was quarantined in the southern city of Bengaluru on suspicion of having contracted the disease has tested negative, the authorities said on Wednesday.

The 28-year-old woman, with a recent history of travel in the East African nation, had developed mild symptoms of Ebola and was moved from a hotel to the state-backed Epidemic Diseases Hospital on May 26.

"The National Institute of Virology (NIV), Pune, has communicated orally that the woman's blood report has come back negative," said a top health official in the southern state of Karnataka, theHindu reported.

India is implementing public health protocols in line with WHO guidelines for the outbreak. The WHO on May 17 declared the Ebola outbreak in Africa a "global public health emergency."

The woman will be tested again in 48 hours, in line with the protocols. "The individual is otherwise in a healthy condition now," officials said.

Also on Wednesday, a 47-year-old man who returned from Uganda was placed underhome isolationin Nagpur, western India. The individual has not shown any symptoms of Ebola so far and has said that he did not come into contact with any Ebola patient in Uganda.

On May 23, New Delhi issued a travel advisory for citizens, saying all non-essential travel to the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), Uganda, and South Sudan should be avoided.

The WHO website says the average fatality rate for Ebola disease is around 50%. The US Center for Disease Prevention and Control has saidmore than 100 deathshave been reported so far.

The Bundibugyo virus is a relativelyrare strain of Ebolafirst identified in Uganda in 2007. Unlike the more common Zaire strain, there is currently no approved vaccine available against Bundibugyo Ebola. The virus spreads through close contact with infected bodily fluids.

(RT.com)