Flight Quarantined at Gatwick After Ebola Fears; Passenger Did Not Have Disease

Tests have found that a woman who died in England's East Surrey Hospital after flying from Sierra Leone to Gatwick did not have the lethal Ebola virus. The 72-year-old passenger reportedly collapsed in the airport (less than 30 miles south of London) after she left a Gambia Bird jet arriving from the West African country. 

According to the Daily Mail, the flight came from Freetown, the capital of Sierra Leone. With 256 victims reported so far, the country has the highest number of fatalities from the disease. A total of 826 have died in West Africa since the outbreak began in February.

The plane, which had 128 passengers on board, was reportedly quarantined as officials traced those who had been in contact with the woman. Paramedics, emergency crews, airfield operations, and immigration officials all came to help the victim and determine the cause of her illness. 

RELATED: CDC Issues Travel Warning for West African Nations in Response to Ebola Outbreak

As The Independent notes, the UK has not seen any confirmed cases of Ebola so far. Dr. Brian McCloskey, director of global public health at Public Health England, emphasized that the passenger did not exhibit symptoms of the disease during the flight, and that there was no health risk to passengers or crew. “It was considered very unlikely to be a case of Ebola but testing was done as a precaution, and was negative."