The condition of a Queensland nurse tested for the deadly Ebola virus after returning from Sierra Leone appears to be improving, Cairns doctors say.
Sue-Ellen Kovack, 56, returned to Australia last weekend from treating patients in the Ebola hotspot as a volunteer with the Red Cross.
While she returned home healthy, her temperature rose to 37.6 degrees Celsius on Thursday morning.
She was assessed by an infectious diseases specialist at Cairns Base Hospital, where she works, and underwent blood tests.
The samples were sent to Brisbane to be tested for the virus on Thursday and came back negative for the disease.
More tests are likely to be done on Sunday with results due back on Monday.
Today, a Queensland Health spokesman said she no longer had a temperature and was in a stable condition.
“She will remain in an isolation unit in Cairns Hospital under observation for at least another 24-hours, a necessary precaution given the patient has been to West Africa and has had a fever within the incubation period of 21 days,” he said.
No Ebola risk to community: Queensland Health
“The broader community is not at risk of contracting Ebola,” the Queensland Health spokesman said.
“While Ebola is a very serious disease, it is not highly contagious as it cannot be caught through coughing or sneezing; a person is not infectious until they are unwell with the disease.”
Eleven people have now been tested in Australia for Ebola with all results negative.
Ms Kovack is the second Australian to have a highly publicised test for the Ebola virus after a West Australian man was tested on the Gold Coast in September.