Test results negative on two possible Ebola cases in Benin

Cotonou (AFP) - Tests on two patients in the west African country of Benin have proved negative for Ebola, the country's health minister said on Monday.

"The samples that were sent to a specialist hospital in Lagos came back negative," Dorothee Akoko Kinde-Gazard told reporters.

Tiny Benin shares a common border with Nigeria, where 10 people have contracted Ebola. Of those, two have died.

One of the two patients in Benin who presented with Ebola-like symptoms was identified as a Nigerian man. He was treated at a hospital in the capital Porto-Novo.

The other was at a facility in the economic capital, Cotonou, which is just a few hours' drive from Lagos, where all the Nigerian Ebola cases have been identified.

There is significant traffic between the two cities each day, especially among traders.

Both were kept in isolation and under observation pending the test results, Kinde-Gazard's department said last week.

Nigeria is one of four west African countries hit by the Ebola outbreak, which has claimed nearly 1,000 lives since the start of the year.