British woman suspected to have died of Ebola after trip from Nigeria to Austria,

The body of a British woman who collapsed and died in Austria following a trip to Nigeria is being tested for the deadly Ebola virus, authorities have confirmed.

The unnamed 48-year-old was found dead in the flat she owned in the town of Vomp, in the Tyrol, on Saturday after completing her journey home from Nigeria, which included a stop-over in Germany.

Amid growing fears over a possible spread of the disease beyond West Africa, it was revealed today that the corpse of a Nigerian woman who died shortly after touching down in United Arab Emirates capital Abu Dhabi yesterday was also being tested for Ebola.

Austrian officials today confirmed that they have implemented emergency measures and sent a blood and urine sample to the Centre for Tropical Diseases in Hamburg, Germany, after the doctor who attended the scene gave the cause of death as a viral infection.

If confirmed, it would be the first case of the virus in Europe.

However, Franz Katzgraber, head of the regional health board, said the risk that the woman had died from the Ebola virus was 'extremely low.'

'We have decided to get a diagnosis for exclusion of  ebola,' he said. 

'The 48-year-old recently entered Germany from Nigeria and we could not determine the history of the deceased.'
The woman's home has in the meantime been sealed off and emergency services staff including medics who found the body have been quarantined.

Although a British citizen, the woman appears to have had a property in Austria although it was not explained whether it was a holiday home or whether she lived in the Alpine Republic.

It comes hours after a Nigerian woman who arrived on a flight to the United Arab Emirates capital of Abu Dhabi and later died in the city may have been infected with the Ebola virus, said health officials.

The health authority in the emirate said in a statement carried by the Emirati state news agency WAM on Sunday evening that the 35-year-old woman was traveling from Nigeria to India for treatment of advanced metastatic cancer.

Her health deteriorated while in transit at Abu Dhabi International Airport and as medics were trying to resuscitate her, they found signs that suggested a possible Ebola virus infection.