Ohio family: Nurse Amber Vinson appears to be Ebola-free

COLUMBUS, Ohio -- Doctors no longer detect Ebola in a Texas nurse who flew to Ohio and back before she was diagnosed with the virus, her family said Wednesday.

Officials at Emory University Hospital and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention couldn't detect Ebola in Amber Vinson as of Tuesday evening, her family said in a statement released through a media consultant. Doctors usually do two tests a day apart before saying they can't detect the virus. It's unclear how many tests Vinson has had.

Vinson's mother, Debra Berry, spoke to her Wednesday, and Vinson has been approved for transfer from isolation, the statement said.

"We all know that further treatment will be necessary as Amber continues to regain strength, but these latest developments have truly answered prayers and bring our family one step closer to reuniting with her at home," Berry said.

Vinson, 29, remains in treatment at Emory, near Atlanta. Emory wouldn't release any information about the patient, hospital spokeswoman Holly Korschun said.

Vinson helped care for a Liberian man with Ebola who died at a Dallas hospital. Another nurse there also became infected and is being treated outside Washington; her condition was upgraded from fair to good.

Health officials say Vinson visited the Akron area Oct. 10-13 to prepare for her wedding and was diagnosed once she returned to Dallas.

Officials are monitoring the health of 164 people in Ohio who are believed to have had contact with her or to have been near her.

The state epidemiologist, Dr. Mary DiOrio, said during a telephone news conference Wednesday that the monitoring of the 164 should end Nov. 4. Officials again emphasized that no one in Ohio has shown symptoms of the disease.

"Obviously it's been a stressful time for those being monitored," DiOrio said.