The Health Ministry said Monday that a Japanese man who returned from Sierra Leone earlier this month is being tested for possible Ebola infection after he developed a fever earlier in the day.

Local media reported that the man in his 30s said he had no direct contact with Ebola patients but he "touched with his bare hands" a bag containing a body on Dec. 17 during a burial in the epidemic-hit country.

He stayed there for eight days through Dec. 21, said the Kyodo News, adding he returned to Japan on Dec. 23 and has since stayed at home at the request of authorities.

The man reported his condition to the health center since his temperature had risen to 38.2 degrees Celsius early Monday and his fever dropped to 37.2 degrees Celsius in the morning, said Kyodo, citing the ministry.

The man is now hospitalized at a medical institution in Tokyo, said the report.

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