Riyadh, Shawwal 13, 1435, Aug 9, 2014, SPA -- The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia's health ministry confirmed today that initial tests that were conducted in Atlanta, United States, on a dead Saudi citizen suspected of having contracted Ebola, had returned negative. In a statement, the ministry said it was waiting for the results of further tests by laboratories in the United States and Germany which were due within days. The late Saudi man died on Wednesday after returning from a business trip to Sierra Leone and showing symptoms similar to those of Ebola sufferers. The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia has suspended, since last April, Umrah and pilgrimage visas for citizens of Liberia, Sierra Leone and Guinea to counter the possible spread of the disease. Ebola is one of the deadliest diseases known in humans with a fatality rate of up to 90 percent. The death rate in the current outbreak in West Africa, which has killed almost 1,000, is around 60 percent. The U.N. World Health Organization (WHO) said on Friday the current West African outbreak represents an international health emergency that is likely to continue spreading for months. --SPA 22:05 LOCAL TIME 19:05 GMT www.spa.gov.sa/w