Australian patient tests negative for Ebola (Update)

A patient who was being treated as a suspected Ebola case at an Australian hospital tested negative for the disease on Tuesday, the hospital said.

The patient, who had recently traveled to West Africa, was released from quarantine at Sir Charles Gairdner Hospital in the Western Australia city of Perth, the hospital said in a statement. A spokeswoman declined to release further details about the patient due to confidentiality rules.

There have been no confirmed Ebola cases in Australia from the recent outbreak in West Africa, which has been blamed for more than 2,800 deaths and sickened more than 5,800 people.

Two weeks ago, a hospital in Queensland state said it was treating a patient for suspected Ebola, but later determined the man did not have the virus.

Australia announced last week that it was providing an additional 7 million Australian dollars ($6.4 million) to help the international response to the outbreak. The country had previously committed AU$1 million.