Preliminary testing initially ruled out Ebola, but the hospital, part of Philadelphia-based Penn Medicine, said the evaluation was done out of “an abundance of caution.”
P.J. Brennan, MD, Penn Medicine’s CMO, said preliminary testing found the patient has another condition.
“Proper protocols and precautions will remain in place to ensure the safety of all of our patients and staff,” Dr. Brennan said.
The hospital did not give more information about the patient or the circumstances for their treatment, but said testing is required when symptoms “suggest a serious disease, particularly involving patients who have traveled overseas.”
The Penn Medicine patient’s testing follows another case in December when clinicians at Nebraska Medical Center in Omaha monitored a U.S. physician who may have been exposed to Ebola while treating patients in the Democratic Republic of Congo.
The physician was released after the required 21-day monitoring period when the hospital found he did not have symptoms.
The Congo has been gripped by an Ebola outbreak that started in August, with more than 734 confirmed cases and over 432 confirmed deaths as of Feb. 4, according to the World Health Organization.
Editor’s note: This article was updated Feb. 6 at 2:45 p.m. CST.
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