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Ebola reports: Dessie Quinn did not have Ebola say health authorities | Ebola reports: Dessie Quinn did not have Ebola say health authorities |
(34 minutes later) | |
An Irishman who died after recently returning from Sierra Leone did not have the Ebola virus, health authorities have confirmed. | An Irishman who died after recently returning from Sierra Leone did not have the Ebola virus, health authorities have confirmed. |
Dessie Quinn, from the Mountcharles area of County Donegal, died after he suffered what were described as Ebola-like symptoms. | |
On Thursday, the Health Service Executive (HSE) said they were testing his body for the disease. | |
The HSE have confirmed that the results show no signs of the virus. | |
"Infection control procedures, which had been put in place as a precautionary measure, will now be stepped down," a statement said. | |
Mr Quinn had worked as an engineer in Sierra Leone for Dublin-based firm KN Network Services. | |
'Sorrow' | |
The company said they returned all their staff from Sierra Leone last Saturday as "a precaution" and screened all employees for Ebola when they left. | |
A spokesperson said there were no positive tests or signs of symptoms from any of the staff. | |
In a statement, the company said: "The management and board of KN Network Services express their deepest sympathies and sorrow to the family and friends of the late Dessie Quinn following his untimely death. | |
"Dessie was an extremely hard working and valued member of staff and was very popular with all his colleagues and he will be missed by everybody who worked with him." | |
Earlier, a priest who had spoken to the Quinn family said they had first heard about a possible link to Ebola through the media. | |
Fr Adrian Gavigan said the family were "very annoyed" at not being told about tests for the virus. | |
'Angry' | |
He said Mr Quinn had been treated for malaria. | |
"They are grieving. They have lost a son, a brother. In its own way, that is very hard to take when there is a sudden death. | |
"However, this was the first time they had heard of this news. He was a young man being treated for malaria for a number of weeks. | |
"I am very angry and think it was very impersonal for the HSE to release a statement without giving the family any warning." | |
The HSE said it was in contact with some family members "from the outset of the tragic situation" on Thursday. | |
"The story broke in the media just before 6pm yesterday, at which point the HSE had to make a public statement on the matter, given the urgency and nature of a public health issue such as this. | |
"The HSE has expressed its sincere condolences to the family for their loss. | |
"It is important to note that the HSE, at no point, identified or named any individual. | |
"Any comment made by the HSE sought to protect the confidentiality of the individual and their family - our statement did not say whether the deceased individual was male or female or what part of Africa they had returned from." |