Patient at KU Hospital considered ‘very low risk’ for Ebola

The University of Kansas Hospital said Friday evening that a patient under treatment with a fever, who recently returned from the West African nation of Sierra Leone, is considered at “very low risk” for Ebola.

Sierra Leone and neighboring Guinea have been experiencing a widespread Ebola outbreak for more than a year. Early this month, the Ebola outbreak was declared over in another neighboring country, Liberia.

KU Hospital officials said the patient did not visit parts of Sierra Leone where the outbreak was occurring. He called before arriving at the hospital and was placed in strict isolation.

All precautions recommended by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention are being taken, officials said, and the public is not at risk.

Alan Bavley, abavley@kcstar.com