Sierra Leone cyclist tested for Ebola at Commonwealth Games

LONDON - Sierra Leone cyclist Moses Sesay was quarantined and tested for Ebola at the Commonwealth Games in Glasgow, before being given the all-clear, the athlete has told a British newspaper.

"I was sick. I felt tired and listless. All the doctors were in special suits to treat me - they dressed like I had Ebola. I was very scared," Sesay told the Daily Mirror.

"I was admitted for four days and they tested me for Ebola. It came back negative but they did it again and this time sent it to London, where it was also negative."

He thanked Scottish medical staff for treating him.

"We can confirm an athlete was tested for a number of things when he fell ill last week, including Ebola. The tests were negative and the athlete competed in his event on Thursday," a spokesman for the games said.

"There is no Ebola in the Athletes Village of the Glasgow 2014 Commonwealth Games."

true
(L-R) Silver medallist Australia's Rohan Dennis, Gold medallist England's Alex Dowsett and Bronze medallist Geraint Thomas pose on the podium during the Men's Cycling Individual Time Trial medal ceremony in Glasgow

Scottish health authorities said it was an isolated incident, that no other athletes were tested, and that no one had tested positive for the disease in Scotland.

The International Civil Aviation Organization is considering passenger screening for the hemorrhagic fever, which has killed 729 people in West Africa since March in the largest outbreak of the virus in history.

AFP