Less than 24 hours after a patient was admitted to Massachusetts General Hospital for a suspected case of Ebola, the patient tested negative for Ebola, but positive for malaria, the hospital announced in a press conference Wednesday afternoon.
The patient, who was admitted to the hospital at around 2 p.m. on Tuesday, will need to undergo further testing, however, according to a statement released on the hospital’s the website.
“Further diagnostic testing is needed to definitively rule out Ebola virus disease and other diagnoses,” the statement said.
The patient had been working in a non-medical capacity in Liberia, the statement said, and had been undergoing routine monitoring by the Boston Public Health Commission.
Because the patient just became symptomatic Tuesday, there is no risk of infection for other passengers on the flight back to the United States, said Dr. Paul Biddinger, medical director of emergency preparedness for MGH, during the Wednesday press conference.
“Practice, practice, practice is obviously our mantra for this sort of thing,” Biddinger said, with regard to being prepared for a possible Ebola patient.
The hospital is continuing to follow the highest possible safety precautions, the statement said.
