Italian doctor declared ebola-free

An Italian doctor who contracted ebola in November while working in Sierra Leone has been declared cured and discharged from hospital in Rome.

A smiling Fabrizio Pulvirenti told reporters at Spallanzani hospital that while he was gravely ill, he tried to mentally analyse his symptoms as a way to keep himself sharp.

The doctor, who worked with the Italy-based Emergency aid group, was given the same experimental drugs that were used in the US and European countries to treat people infected with the virus, according to officials at the hospital.