The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention confirmed Monday night that a patient at Jackson Memorial Hospital has tested negative for the deadly Ebola virus. The CDC test was a retest of a previous negative Ebola test for the same patient.
The CDC's report came after one of Jackson Health Systems' twitter accounts confirmed earlier Monday that a patient tested negative for the virus last week.
A Jackson Health spokeswoman said the patient had shown some symptoms associated with the disease.
"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."
The news in Florida comes as health officials worldwide continue to try to control what the CDC says is the largest Ebola outbreak in history. More than 2,100 cases of Ebola have been confirmed since the current outbreak started in December of last year in West Africa. Suspected deaths are at 1,848.
Three U.S. aid workers were infected in Liberia in August. Two of the workers were treated and released and a third is recovering at a Nebraska hospital. One of those patients, Dr. Kent Brantly, told NBC in an exclusive interview that he felt like he was about to die when he was isolated in a Liberian hospital.
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"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,'" the Fort Worth doctor told Matt Lauer.
The virus is spread by direct contact with blood or bodily fluids, not through casual contact.
Check back with NBC 6 South Florida and NBC6.com for updates.
