A PATIENT tested for Ebola at North Manchester General Hospital does not have the disease, according to a Public Health England spokesperson.

"The UK has some of the best public health protection systems in the world and the risk to the UK of Ebola still remains low."

Yesterday the NHS released a statement saying the man 'who may have a history of travel to West Africa' was being treated in isolation at the hospital's specialist clinical infectious diseases unit.

Public Health England added yesterday that Ebola was 'unlikely' but that the man had been isolated and tests carried out 'as a precaution'.

The deadly virus - which has killed around 8000 people and infected 20,000 in West Africa since the outbreak in early-2014 - has now been ruled out.

Ebola virusEbola virus

A spokesman for The Pennine Acute Hospitals NHS Trust said: 

"The UK has some of the best public health protection systems in the world and the risk to the UK of Ebola still remains low. We, along with other NHS Trusts, have robust and well tested systems in place to deal with suspected Ebola cases to protect staff and the public."

Meanwhile, stricken British Ebola nurse Pauline Cafferkey - the first person to be diagnosed with Ebola in Britain - is 'no longer critically ill' at London's Royal Free Hospital.

Read more about the Ebola virus via the NHS website here.