AN Ebola alert has been lifted  after tests cleared a detainee at a Scottish immigration centre of suffering the deadly virus.

The woman, who was at Dungavel Detention Centre in Lanarkshire, was taken to hospital on Thursday for tests.

She is believed to be in her 30s and had arrived recently from Sierra Leone, where hundreds have been killed by the deadly virus.

The woman, who was initially held at a UK airport, has been taken to the infectious diseases unit at Monklands General Hospital in Airdrie.

A spokesman for NHS Lanarkshire today said the test results had come back negative for ebola.

He said: "The results of the viral haemorrhagic fever (ebola) tests which have been carried out are negative.

"We can confirm the patient does not have ebola or another form of viral haemorrhagic fever."

So far, more than 1000 people have died and almost 2000 suspected, probable or confirmed cases have been recorded in West Africa since the outbreak was first detected.

A Scottish aid worker at the frontline of the fight against Ebola has described the epidemic as worse than war.

Rob MacGillivray, humanitarian director with Save the Children, has been working in one of the worst hit areas in Freetown, Sierra Leone. He said: "In some ways this is more sinister - you can't see the enemy.

"The level of fear here in Sierra Leone is on a par with that during civil war.

"This is the largest Ebola outbreak the world has ever seen and the region is struggling to cope."