Ivory Coast’s health ministry has announced that health officials are currently dealing with a suspected case of the Wuhan coronavirus in the country.
The traveller, who returned to the West African country from Beijing on Saturday, is undergoing further tests after showing flu-like symptoms. If confirmed, it will be the first case of the deadly coronavirus in Africa.
Coronavirus, which first emerged in the Chinese city of Wuhan, has spread to over 2,700 people and killed 81 as at the time of this report. The 34-year-old woman is currently in isolation, officials said.
According to the statement released by Ivory Coast’s health ministry, the traveller has lived in China for the past five years and had shown flu-like symptoms before boarding the plane to Abidjan.
“Her general state is satisfactory,” the ministry said. “There are, at this stage, suspicions of a case of pneumonia tied to the coronavirus.” The woman’s test results are currently being awaited.
The coronavirus also known as 2019-nCoV is understood to be a new strain of coronavirus not previously identified in humans.
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Since the outbreak began in Wuhan, several African countries have introduced extra screening on flights arriving from China.
The virus has been confirmed in eight countries including the United States across three continents.
UPDATE: The Ivorian health ministry has confirmed that the suspected case of coronavirus in the country had tested negative. Had the result been positive, it would have been the first case of the deadly coronavirus in Africa