Sacramento, California - Dr. Gil Chavez, State Epidemiologist and Deputy Director, Center for Infectious Diseases, California Department of Public Health (CDPH) confirmed that a patient admitted to Kaiser Permanente South Sacramento Medical Center on Wednesday evening who exhibited symptoms consistent with a viral illness including Ebola, and with a history of travel to an Ebola-affected country, has tested negative for the Ebola virus.

State and local health officials have been working hard with California’s Ebola Treatment Centers to safely and effectively identify, isolate, diagnose and treat suspect Ebola patients. This recent case at Kaiser South illustrates that our hard work and partnership has paid off,” said Dr. Chavez. 

The test for Ebola conducted by the Sacramento County Public Health Laboratory came back negative early this afternoon. 

At this time, there have been no confirmed cases of Ebola in California and there is no threat to the general public. Ebola symptoms may appear anywhere between two to 21 days after exposure and include a fever, muscle pain, weakness, diarrhea, vomiting, abdominal pain and lack of appetite. Travelers from Africa may experience flu-like or GI symptoms due to malaria or other non-Ebola associated diseases. 

Whenever there is a person displaying symptoms that may be Ebola, who has recently traveled to Sierra Leone, Liberia or Guinea, certain precautions are taken including isolating the patient, ruling out other infectious diseases, and testing for Ebola if warranted. The California Department of Public Health, in coordination with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Sacramento County Public Health and Kaiser South Sacramento, worked together to ensure  protocols were in place to protect the public health.

For more information, visit http://cdph.ca.gov/programs/cder/Pages/Ebola.aspx.