A Sussex  patient suspected of having the Ebola virus has tested negative for the deadly disease.

The patient was admitted to Eastbourne District General Hospital after returning from West Africa.

Public Health England (PHE) carried out precautionary testing for the disease but confirmed this morning the individual was not infected.

During the current outbreak, which started in December 2013 in Guinea, West Africa, the virus has claimed more than 9,000 lives worldwide.

There has only been one confirmed case in the UK so far.

There have been 177 individuals in the UK tested for the virus but there has only been one positive case.

Pauline Cafferkey was the first person in the country diagnosed with the disease after returning from working in Sierra Leone.

The 39-year-old nurse said she was “happy to be alive” after she pulled through.

A PHE spokeswoman said: “Although there has been one confirmed case diagnosed in the UK, the risk of Ebola to the general public in the UK remains very low.

“Ebola can only be transmitted by direct contact with the blood or bodily fluids of an infected person.

“We have well established and practised infection control procedures for dealing with cases of imported infectious disease and our systems have demonstrated that the UK is able to manage a case of Ebola when identified.”