Chief medical officer says it is unlikely 18-year-old recently arrived from west Africa has virus as fever has abated
A woman possibly infected with Ebola has been isolated at a Brisbane hospital.
The 18-year-old patient had recently arrived in Australia from west Africa but was taken to the Royal Brisbane and Women’s hospital after showing signs of fever, the Seven Network reported on Sunday.
She arrived in Brisbane 11 days ago with eight members of her extended family and all had been placed in home quarantine immediately, Queensland Chief Medical Officer Dr Jeannette Young told reporters in Brisbane.
They had left Guinea to move to Queensland.
Queensland Health knew the family was arriving, met them at the airport and arranged their quarantine.
Staff were checking the family’s health daily and on Saturday night the 18-year-old developed a fever.
“She’s otherwise well,” Young said.
“She didn’t have any known contact with anyone that was sick with Ebola virus disease, but she did come from an area that did have a reasonably large number of cases.”
The six children and two adults she travelled with were “quite safe” but remained in home quarantine.
“They’re all perfectly well and no one else in that house has a fever,” Young told reporters.
Test results expected in the early hours on Monday morning coupled with those from a second screening in three days will confirm whether the woman has contacted Ebola.
Even if the woman has Ebola, other passengers from the plane were safe, Young said.
“She’s been here in Brisbane now for 11 days in home quarantine so there is no risk at all for anyone else on that plane,” Young said.
“You need to have symptoms and be excreting the virus, in vomit, in faeces, in sweat, in urine and she doesn’t have any symptoms so she hasn’t been excreting the virus so someone could get infected.”
As the woman had not left the house since arriving or had any visitors, there was no risk to the wider community, Young said.
Her fever had abated and Young said it was unlikely she had Ebola.
“But she’s been in an area that there’s been a significant number of cases so there’s always that potential,” she said.