Daijiworld Media Network - Rio de Janeiro

Rio de Janeiro, Jun 1: Health authorities in Brazil are monitoring two patients for possible Ebola infection in the country's largest cities, São Paulo and Rio de Janeiro, amid a growing outbreak of the disease in Africa.

Officials in São Paulo said a 37-year-old man from the Democratic Republic of the Congo exhibited symptoms including fever and is being investigated for a possible Ebola infection.

Meanwhile, health authorities in Rio de Janeiro activated safety protocols after a Belgian man who recently arrived from Uganda developed viral symptoms such as cough, chills and diarrhoea.

Test results for both patients are expected next week. If confirmed, they would represent the first Ebola cases detected outside Africa since the current outbreak began in DR Congo.

According to health officials, both patients have already been diagnosed with other illnesses. The patient in São Paulo tested positive for meningitis and remains in serious condition, while the Belgian patient in Rio de Janeiro was diagnosed with malaria.

Authorities stressed that these diagnoses do not rule out the possibility of a simultaneous Ebola infection.

The ongoing outbreak in DR Congo has resulted in more than 1,000 suspected cases and at least 246 deaths. Uganda has reported nine confirmed cases and one death linked to the outbreak.

The current outbreak is associated with the rare Bundibugyo strain of the Ebola virus, for which no proven vaccine currently exists. Health experts estimate that the strain kills about one-third of those infected.

Ebola is primarily an animal-borne disease that commonly infects fruit bats and other wildlife. Human outbreaks can occur when people come into contact with infected animals through hunting, handling or consumption.

The virus spreads through direct contact with bodily fluids of infected individuals, including blood, saliva, sweat, urine, vomit, semen and excrement.

International medical charity Médecins Sans Frontières recently warned that the rapid spread of the virus has created an alarming situation, with an unprecedented number of cases reported at an early stage of the outbreak.

Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, head of the World Health Organization, is currently visiting the heavily affected Ituri province in DR Congo to oversee containment efforts.

Despite concerns over possible cases outside Africa, the WHO has repeatedly stated that the likelihood of global spread remains extremely low, citing existing surveillance and containment measures.