The family of a man at the centre of an Ebola scare say they first heard he may have contracted the virus from the media.

Parish Priest of Mountcharles, Fr Adrian Gavigan, says Dessie Quinn had been suffering from malaria and that's what the family had thought caused his death.

Fr Gavigan told Highland Radio that "the nation was told before the family that there was going to be an investigation."

It is hoped test results due back later will determine whether or Mr Quinn had the virus.

43-year-old Dessie Quinn from Mountcharles was found dead yesterday morning having recently returned from West Africa.

His remains have been kept in isolation as a precaution, with the HSE saying "the appropriate national guidelines, in line with international best practice, are being followed by the public health team dealing with the situation."

Extremely low risk

The HSE says the risk of Ebola spreading is "extremely low".

In a statement released yesterday, Dr. Darina O’Flanagan, Head of the HSE Health Protection Surveillance Centre, said; "In general, the risk of contracting Ebola virus disease is extremely low and would involve very close personal contact with the infected individual or their body fluids for there to be any risk at all."

"We await the outcome of the laboratory tests before we will know whether or not this individual had contracted Ebola virus disease. The appropriate public health guidelines are being followed at every stage in this process as a precaution."

Gregory Hartl of the World Health Organisation spoke to Newstalk Breakfast this morning, and explained some of the precautions that are likely to be taken:

The suspected case in Ireland comes following news that Senegal has closed its border with Guinea, where the outbreak first appeared earlier this year.

Yesterday, two Americans who had contracted the virus were discharged from Emory University Hospital in Atlanta, Georgia.  

Dr Brantly and fellow aid worker Nancy Writebol were flown out of the west African nation of Liberia earlier this month after contracting the disease.

They were both infected while working at a missionary clinic outside Monrovia and have now been discharged from hospital.

The Ebola outbreak has killed at least 1,350 people across Guinea, Liberia, Sierra Leone and Nigeria in western Africa.

Originally posted 6:05am