Charlie Smith
A MAN suspected of having the deadly coronavirus on the Costa del Sol has been told he has influenza B.
The unnamed 52-year-old had been placed in isolation at the Hospital Regional de Malaga yesterday.
Europa Press reported that the man may have been in contact with people from the Chinese city of Wuhan, where the contagion, which has killed 170 people, originated.
Health officials in Malaga reported that the man tested positive for influenza B, although they are still waiting for the results of one more test.
Minister of Health and Families, Jesus Aguirre confirmed that the man had the contagious disease, which affects the nose, throat and lungs.
He said: “Taking into account that he has tested positive for the flu, the symptoms that the patient had are more due to influenza B than to another type of virus.”
The patient’s test results have now been sent to Madrid’s National Center for Microbiology at the Carlos III Health Institute.
The outcome of the tests is pending ‘the negativity or positivity for coronavirus’.
Aguirre added: “Epidemiologically there was a suspicion of possible contact with a patient with coronavirus and clinically he presented symptoms typical of influenza or a viral infection.”
It comes after the Wuhan Zall football team jetted into the Costa del sol this week, prompting fresh fears that they could spread the coronavirus.
However the players, who are enjoying a two-week stay in the upmarket area of Sotogrande, were given the all-clear before they left China.
Meanwhile, Costa del Sol pharmacies have reportedly sold out of biological filtration masks, in response to suspected cases of coronavirus.
