A patient was being tested for Ebola at a California hospital amid fears the patient may have come into contact with the deadly virus, authorities said Tuesday. The person was in isolation and was being assessed by infectious disease specialists at the Kaiser Permanente South Sacramento Medical Center. Dr. Stephen M. Parodi, infectious disease specialist director at the hospital, said in a statement that his team would be testing blood samples and that although “the virus is unconfirmed, we are taking the actions recommended by the CDC as a precaution."
No details were given about the patient, the circumstances of the potential contact, or any symptoms. Hospitals have been on high alert, and the CDC says it has fielded nearly 70 reports of suspected infections from 29 states. Of six people tested, all have been negative. On Monday, health officials said a 30-year-old woman was undergoing Ebola tests in New Mexico after recently returning from Sierra Leone. Two Americans were transported to the U.S. for treatment after they were infected in West Africa, where the World Health Organization says the Ebola outbreak is the most widespread in history, with more than 1,200 deaths and 2,200 cases.
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