Kiwi healthcare worker tested for Ebola

Photo / Michael Craig

A second New Zealand healthcare worker is being tested for the Ebola virus after returning from West Africa.

Health Minister Jonathan Coleman said that since returning from Sierra Leone on April 15, the person had developed minor symptoms "that required the Ebola virus to be ruled out".

The unnamed person was airlifted to Wellington Hospital yesterday and was being kept in one of the facility's isolation units.

Blood samples from the patient have been sent to a high-security laboratory in Melbourne and test results were expected within 24 to 48 hours.

Dr Coleman said the only person the healthcare worker had been in contact with during the potentially infectious period was their partner.

A person with Ebola is not infectious until they display symptoms.

The patient had been working in Sierra Leone as part of New Zealand's contribution to the international response to the Ebola outbreak.

Last month, another healthcare worker tested negative for Ebola at Christchurch Hospital.

The virus is spread by direct contact with an infected individual, and is transmitted through contact with blood or other body fluids.