In a press statement on the evening of October 6, the Ministry said the victim is a resident of Gumbo-Shirikat.

Medics say he presented signs and symptoms of the Ebola Virus Disease.

He vomited blood with some oozing through his nose while suffering from general body weakness and chest pain.

According to the ministry, the deceased man had a recent history of travel to Uganda in the last 14 days.

The statement released at 5:PM said the National Rapid Response Team was immediately notified and dispatched to the Juba Teaching for further investigation.

The team has collected the sample and the result is expected later this afternoon.

When contacted, Antony Lupai, the Director-General of Juba teaching hospital confirmed the suspected case.

“Up to now, we are still waiting, we don’t know the results because samples were taken yesterday [Thursday] and we are yet to confirm whether it’s an Ebola or it’s just any other problem apart from Ebola so we cannot say there is a confirmed case of Ebola.”

While it was rumored that the country had registered about six suspected cases of the virus, the ministry has ruled out four of them, describing them only as “alerts”.

What you should know about Ebola

Ebola is a viral hemorrhagic fever that was first discovered in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DR Congo).

Five of the virus species are known to cause disease in humans — Zaire, Sudan, Bundibugyo, Reston, and Tai Forest.

The first three have resulted in serious outbreaks in Africa.

The virus’ natural reservoir animal is suspected to be a species of fruit bat, which does not itself fall ill but can pass the disease on to primates, including humans. Humans become exposed to the virus if they kill or butcher infected bats for food.

Among humans, the virus is passed on by contact with the blood, body fluids, secretions, or organs of an infected or recently deceased person.

Those infected do not become contagious until symptoms appear. They become more and more contagious until just after their death, which poses great risks during funerals.

Death rates are high, at around 50 percent on average of those infected, and up to 90 percent for some epidemics, World Health Organization (WHO) data show.

Following an incubation period of between two and 21 days, Ebola develops into a high fever, weakness, intense muscle and joint pain, headaches, and a sore throat.

The initial symptoms are often followed by vomiting and diarrhea, skin eruptions, kidney and liver failure, and sometimes internal and external bleeding.

Merck’s Ervebo vaccine, the first Ebola jab approved by the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) in December 2019, has been shown to be highly effective in protecting people from the Zaire strain.

US group Johnson & Johnson has also reported promising results against the Zaire strain of its two-dose Zabdeno vaccine, which has been authorized for use in the European Union.

In terms of treatment, the WHO in August recommended two life-saving medicines, Inmazeb and Ebanga, which were successfully trialed during Ebola outbreaks.