NORTHERN CALIFORNIA – Officials said Thursday that a UC Davis Medical Center patient who is being evaluated for the Ebola virus is in good condition.
The patient was transferred to the medical center at approximately 9 a.m. Thursday from Mercy General Hospital in Sacramento, UC Davis Medical Center reported.
The patient was transferred to the medical center because UC Davis has been identified as a priority hospital for evaluating and treating potential Ebola patients.
UC Davis physicians are in close coordination with Sacramento County’s Public Health Department, the California Department of Public Health, and the U.S. Centers for Disease Control regarding the patient’s evaluation.
UC Davis has extensive measures in place that protect the health and safety of patients, hospital workers and visitors.
The hospital said the patient’s presence poses no risk to the public or medical center patients.
The isolation room is properly equipped and segregated, and it is staffed by experts who’ve been highly trained to care for patients exposed to infectious diseases, the hospital reported.
Dr. Gil Chavez, state epidemiologist and deputy director for the California Department of Public Health's Center for Infectious Diseases, said Thursday that it was important to note that the patient hadn't been confirmed for Ebola.
“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,” Chavez said.
The California Department of Public Health, in coordination with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Sacramento County Public Health and U.C. Davis Medical Center, is ensuring that all protocols are in place to protect the public health and will continue to closely monitor the situation, Chavez said.
Last fall, state health officials reported that two patients – one in Los Angeles County, the other in Sacramento County – had been tested for the virus as a precaution. Those cases were negative.
STATE: Possible Ebola patient being evaluated at UC Davis Medical Center
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