Patient Being Tested for Ebola at Philadelphia Hospital

A patient is being tested for a possible Ebola virus at the Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania, officials with the medical facility said Wednesday.

Dr. Patrick Brennan, chief medical officer at Penn Medicine, said the patient met screening criteria for Ebola testing and is currently undergoing evaluation.

“Preliminary testing indicates that the patient has another condition, which is likely the cause of their illness,” Brennan said in a statement. “There is no risk to other patients or visitors.”

Brennan said the hospital is following “proper protocols and procedures” for dealing with Ebola, including isolating the patient, and will adhere to them until testing is complete.

The latest possible Ebola case comes less than a month after a man was released from a Nebraska medical center after possible exposure to the virus in the Democratic Republic of Congo. He was not found to show any symptoms of the disease and was not believed to be a risk to the public, according to the medical center.

Ebola has infected at least 788 people and killed 486 people as of Feb. 4 since an outbreak of the virus started in the Democratic Republic of Congo in August, according to the World Health Organization.

Ebola spreads through people via direct contact with the blood or bodily fluids of an infected person, objects that are contaminated or through sexual contact, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. The virus can spread quickly during times of outbreak.

 

Write to Mahita Gajanan at mahita.gajanan@time.com.