CDC: Miami Hospital Patient Tests Negative For Ebola
MIAMI (CBSMiami) – A patient at a Miami-area hospital has tested negative for the deadly Ebola virus, confirmed officials with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention on Monday evening.
The CDC said they completed their tests.
In addition, the Jackson Health System also released the following statement, "Last week, a Jackson Health System patient tested negative for the Ebola virus. The patient had shown some symptoms associated with the disease and was tested in an abundance of caution. All of our community's precautionary measures were taken, multiple agencies worked effectively in partnership, and we demonstrated that we are ready in the unlikely event that this disease is detected in Miami-Dade County. Out of respect for patient privacy, we are not providing any additional details."
CDC spokesman Tom Skinner said in a conference call with reporters Monday there was a patient considered "at low risk for Ebola''' who was tested in Miami, but the results came back negative.
Ebola is highly lethal and can have a human mortality rate of up to 90-percent.
The virus, transmitted through bodily fluids, has sickened at least 4,000 people in five Western African nations. The World Health Organization says it will take months to bring the epidemic under control and is warning there may be up to 20,000 cases before it is stopped.
Three United States aid workers were infected in Liberia. They were all brought back to the U.S. for treatment. Two were cured and were released and the third remains ill at a Nebraska hospital.
According to the CDC, symptoms of Ebola typically include a fever greater than 101.5 degrees, severe headache, muscle pain, weakness, diarrhea, vomiting, abdominal pain and lack of appetite.
Symptoms may appear anywhere from 2 to 21 days after exposure to the virus, although 8-10 days is most common, according to the CDC.
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