Patient in Sacramento, Calif., being tested for 'possible' Ebola exposure

SACRAMENTO, Calif. -- A patient who may have been exposed to the Ebola virus is being treated at the Kaiser Permanente South Sacramento Medical Center, the Sacramento County Department of Health and Human Services said Tuesday.

FOX 40 News said the patient is being kept in an isolated negative pressure room. According to the Sacramento County Department of Health and Human Services, all appropriate safety protocols are being followed.

The Sacramento Bee reported that Kaiser Permanente took a blood sample from the patient that was subsequently sent by the Sacramento County Public Health Lab to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

The newspaper said it will take several days to get the results and to determine whether the patient has the virus.

Two Americans were confirmed to have contracted the virus last month in Liberia. They are being treated in Atlanta.

No information was immediately released on where the patient may have contracted the deadly virus, which has been limited, for the most part, to West Africa.

The CDC says the risk of a traveler bringing Ebola into the United States is small, but there have been other patients tested around the country.  The Sacramento Bee said that a teacher in New Mexico is currently being kept in isolation as the CDC processes her blood test.
Symptoms of the virus include fever, severe headache, muscle pain and weakness, diarrhea, vomiting, abdominal pain and loss of appetite.