Fears of an Ebola outbreak in the United States hit home Tuesday as health officials announced that a patient at a Sacramento hospital was being tested for the virus that has killed an estimated 1,200 people in west Africa.
Doctors at the Kaiser Permanente South Sacramento Medical Center took a blood sample from the patient that was subsequently sent by the Sacramento County Public Health Laboratory to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in Atlanta.
In a statement, Dr. Stephen M. Parodi, infectious diseases specialist at Kaiser, said the patient is being kept in isolation in a specially equipped negative pressure room, and staff are using protective equipment. The health provider released no other details, including whether the patient had recently traveled to a west African nation or whether there were symptoms of the virus.
“The safety of our members, patients and staff is our highest priority. Our physicians and infectious disease experts are working closely with local and state public health agencies to monitor developments and share information,” Parodi said in a statement.
It appeared to be the first case of Ebola testing in California during the current epidemic and one of only a handful in the nation, according to public health officials and media reports. As of Aug. 13, none of those tested in the U.S. – in areas including Atlanta, Ohio and New York – have actually had the disease, according to the CDC.
