Ebola's first British victim: Man who did NOT travel to Africa dies of suspected disease

A British man has died of suspected Ebola in Macedonian capital of Skopje despite not having been to Africa.

17:24 10 October 2014

A 58-year-old man has died of suspected Ebola in Macedonia despite not having been to Africa, where the outbreak first took hold.

Doctors are now investigating whether he got the killer virus or he died after a drinking binge. If confirmed, the unnamed man is the first British victim of the Ebola outbreak, which has already killed thousands in West Africa.

Before he died yesterday, he had been suffering from fever, vomiting, and internal bleeding for three days in his hotel, which has been sealed off by armed police.

Dr Jovanka Kostovska, Macedonia's head of infection control, said the Briton had ‘all symptoms of Ebola, which raises suspicions with this patient’.

'We got information from several places that the patient frequently and in large quantities consumed alcohol, which can give a similar clinical picture and other diseases'.

This morning she added: 'There is a small probability he had Ebola, but we have to wait for the full results,' which are due imminently.

Meanwhile, Dr Brian McCloskey, of Public Health England, said: 'Public Health England is aware there are unconfirmed reports of a British national dying in Macedonia, who may have exhibited some symptoms compatible with Ebola.

'We understand Ebola to be unlikely as the cause of death but will continue to work with partners to investigate.'