Israel confirms no Ebola cases after tests on two hospitalised patients

Two suspected Ebola cases in Israel have tested negative for the virus, the country’s Health Ministry said on June 22, ruling out infection after laboratory analysis.

According to Israeli media, the patients had recently returned from the Democratic Republic of the Congo and were hospitalised for treatment at Sheba Medical Center and Rambam Health Care Campus, where they continue to receive care for unrelated conditions, officials said.

“The tests were carried out in accordance with professional protocols and internationally accepted guidelines for high-risk infectious diseases,” the ministry said, adding that there are no confirmed Ebola cases in Israel.

Ebola is not airborne and spreads through direct contact with infected bodily fluids or contaminated materials. Health authorities reiterated advice against non-essential travel to areas with active outbreaks, particularly parts of the Democratic Republic of the Congo and Uganda.

On June 22, all 18 U.S. citizens who were placed under quarantine following a hantavirus outbreak aboard the Dutch cruise vessel MV Hondius have returned to normal life, US health officials confirmed.

Authorities lifted the quarantine on Sunday after confirming that none of the individuals tested positive for the virus, which can have an incubation period of up to six weeks.

Of those quarantined, 12 had already left a facility in Nebraska on May 31 to complete a 42-day isolation period at home, while the remaining six stayed in the centre for the full duration.

The outbreak occurred aboard the Hondius, which departed Ushuaia, Argentina, on 1 April en route to the Canary Islands. Health authorities reported eight infections among passengers, including three fatalities. Around 150 people were on board the vessel, most of them from the United States, the United Kingdom, Spain and the Netherlands.

By Aghakazim Guliyev