City of Columbus

Columbus Residents Test Negative for Ebola Virus -- 11.23.2014

Press Release
November 23, 2014                                                                       

Contact: Jose Rodriguez, Columbus Public Health, 604-5025

Columbus Residents Test Negative for Ebola Virus
Patients Test Positive for Influenza Virus

The two young Columbus residents who were recently tested for Ebola have tested negative for the Ebola virus.  Columbus Public Health received the negative test results from the Ohio Department of Health. Both individuals have tested positive for Influenza A. The patients will be treated for influenza and monitored for progress. 

The Ebola virus is transmitted through contact with blood or body fluids from an infected person, either directly or through contaminated surfaces, needles or medical equipment.   The virus is not airborne, so a person cannot get Ebola by breathing the air of an infected patient.  Early symptoms of Ebola include fever, muscle weakness and headaches.

Columbus Public Health continues to monitor all travelers from the four countries affected by the Ebola, for twenty one days from their return from West Africa. 

We continue to encourage everyone over six months of age get vaccinated for the Influenza virus. 

For more information on Ebola, visit the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention at www.cdc.gov.

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