No Ebola Virus Found In Patient At Sacramento Hospital
SACRAMENTO (CBS SF) -- A patient who has been isolated in a Sacramento hospital for the past few days over possible exposure to the Ebola virus does not have the deadly pathogen, health officials said Thursday night.
"We are happy to report that we heard from the Centers for Disease Control that the test result is negative," said Dr. Ron Chapman, Director of the California Department of Public Health.
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Chapman also said that there are no confirmed cases of the Ebola virus in California, and that there are no suspect patients with known high risk exposure in the state.
The unidentified patient had been placed in a "negative pressure room" at Kaiser Permanente South Sacramento Medical Center while the case was being examined. Chapman said the patient had recently traveled from West Africa.
It is unclear when the patient would be released from the hospital.
According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the deadly African virus causes hemorrhagic fever, and kills 90 percent of those infected. The Ebola virus is only spread through direct contact with bodily fluids, not through air, food or water.
The World Health Organization said 1,300 people have been killed in an outbreak in West Africa.
Two American aid workers in West Africa had been infected with the Ebola virus. The workers were brought to a hospital in Atlanta and received an experimental treatment for the disease, before being discharged from the hospital on Thursday.