DHAKA: A test for Ebola has been carried out on a female passenger who died after arriving in the UK from The Gambia.

The Department for Health said the test on the elderly woman, who landed at Gatwick Airport, came back negative on Sunday afternoon.

Some 728 people have died of Ebola in Guinea, Liberia and Sierra Leone this year, in the worst-ever outbreak of the disease.

Public Health England says the risk to the UK remains very low.

The Ebola virus spreads through human contact with a sufferer's bodily fluids, reports the BBC.

Initial flu-like symptoms can lead to external haemorrhaging from areas like eyes and gums, and internal bleeding which can lead to organ failure. The current mortality rate is about 55%.

BDST: 1002 HRS, AUG 4, 2104