Macedonian doctors and health professionals said Friday that alcohol, not Ebola, was the likely cause of the British man's death in the Balkan country.

According to a senior health official, who agreed to an interview with Reuters on condition of anonymity, the doctors in the hospital where the Briton was treated originally suspected it was a case of hemorrhagic fever.

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The symptoms of the man included vomiting, fever and massive internal bleeding. The deadly Ebola virus, which has now taken more than 4,000 lives in West Africa, is a known cause of hemorrhagic fever.

The British patient was immediately put in isolation once the doctors entertained the possibility that he was infected by the virus, the health official said.

However, recent findings also indicated that the patient consumed large amounts of alcoholic drinks. , as confirmed by several places where the man went to, prior to his death.

"The theory that the man was killed by alcohol consumption is very much in play," he said.

Since Thursday, the Skopje hotel where the British man was staying has remained in quarantine and the police guarding the place has prevented any of the 25 guests to leave, pending investigation.

Another 10 people, including ambulance staff, have been sent to the hospital in isolation for check-up.

Meanwhile, another British man, who was traveling with the victim said although he was drinking, it was no more than what was consumed by anyone else.

But health authorities in Macedonia, said they were only following the protocol imposed by the World Health Organization, especially after they learned that the Briton recently went to Nigeria.

However, on Friday, authorities said the man last traveled to Africa in 2008.

According to Dr. Jovanka Kostovska, of the Health Ministry's commission for infectious diseases, the man locked himself in his hotel room for three days and refused to eat.

In a statement released Friday, Kostovska said there was a minimal probability that the man died of Ebola, but his blood samples have already been sent to Frankfurt for exams.

The result on his cause of death are expected on Saturday.

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