A woman in Colorado who was being evaluated for the Ebola virus has tested negative, state public health officials announced Thursday.
The patient, whose identity has not been released, was transported to a University of Colorado Health medical facility Wednesday evening after becoming ill, according to the Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment.
Ebola testing was conducted after it was discovered the woman had recently traveled to West Africa, where she had been working for a humanitarian aid organization in a country that has been affected by the Ebola outbreak. She had not been there as a health worker.
Dr. Michelle Barron, director of infectious diseases and prevention at the University of Colorado Hospital, said at a Thursday news conference the patient has been transported to University of Colorado Hospital where she is undergoing additional testing.
The woman had visited an African country that wasn't affected by Ebola for several days prior to her trip to the U.S., which was how she evaded U.S. airport screenings that were put in place last year to identify individuals arriving in the U.S. from Ebola-affected countries.
The woman came to the U.S. to visit friends in Colorado, according to Barron, and is considered to be at low risk for infection but continues to be monitored for the disease.
More than 10,000 people have died as a result of the Ebola outbreak, according to the World Health Organization. The vast majority of cases have occurred in Sierra Leone, Liberia and Guinea.
Five other American aid workers who were being watched in Nebraska because of possible Ebola exposure ended their quarantine period earlier this week without showing any symptoms of the disease.
