CDC tests Miami hospital patient again after Ebola scare

A patient at Miami hospital is being retested after showing some symptoms of the Ebola virus, according to officials with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).

SEE ALSO: Nancy Writebol speaks about her Ebola experience 

Despite an original negative result, officials are not taking any chances and retesting the patient to be sure, CDC spokesman Jason McDonald announced. The patient, whose identity is being protected, is at Jackson Hospital, the public hospital serving residents of Miami-Dade County in Florida, however, the hospital announced the patient was originally tested mostly as a precaution.

“Last week, a Jackson Health System patient tested negative for the Ebola virus. The patient had shown some symptoms associated with the disease and was tested in an abundance of caution,” Jackson Health’s Jennifer Piedra said. “All of our community’s precautionary measures were taken, multiple agencies worked effectively in partnership, and we demonstrated that we are ready in the unlikely event that this disease is detected in Miami-Dade County. Out of respect for patient privacy, we are not providing any additional details.”

Health officials say the world is experiencing the largest Ebola outbreak in recorded history, with more than 2100 cases reported—most of them are in Africa.

Two US medical workers who had been offering humanitarian aid in Liberia this August contracted the virus. They were eventually flown for treatment at US hospitals and one of them has made a full recovery—whether the experimental drug ZMapp being administered to some patients is responsible for the recovery is still to be seen.

“I said to the nurse who was taking care of me, ‘I’m sick. I have no reserve. And I don’t know how long I can keep this up,’” Fort Worth based Dr. Kent Brantly told NBC exclusively after being released from Emory University Hospital.

Nancy Writebol, a medical aid worker who was also infected, was also treated and released last week from Emory Hospital in Altanta after making a full recovery.

Meanwhile a third American patient, Dr. Rick Sacra, continues to receive treatment at Nebraska Medical Center in Omaha. He has shown some signs of recovery, but is still not in the clear. He was able to consume his first meal since arriving at the hospital on Friday. Officials are using another experimental drug, not ZMapp, but are refusing to make the name of that medication public at this time.

SEE ALSO: Ebola spreads to new country