Officials announced Wednesday evening that the second round of tests on the Duke University Hospital patient who developed a fever after returning from Liberia have come back negative for Ebola.
A second round of tests confirmed that the patient admitted to Duke University Hospital Sunday does not carry the Ebola virus.
The patient—admitted to DUH from Person County after developing a fever Sunday—had just arrived Liberia Oct. 31. They have remained in quarantine since.
After an initial test came back negative for Ebola Monday morning, further tests were needed to confirm the patient as Ebola-free because of the 72-hour window in which the virus progresses.
The second negative result means that the patient no longer needs to remain in quarantine, announced Dr. Megan Davies, state epidemiologist with the North Carolina Department of Health and Human Services.
The patient arrived from Liberia at Newark Liberty International Airport in New Jersey Friday, and then took a bus to Durham. The individual did not display any symptoms of the disease at the time, but developed a fever Sunday morning after traveling to nearby Person County.
"We are obviously very pleased that the patient's confirmatory test was negative for Ebola," said Aldona Wos, secretary of the North Carolina Department of Health and Human Services, in a news release. "I am extremely pleased with the collaboration between the state, federal and local governments and Duke University Hospital. However, we must continue to prepare for the possibility that an individual in North Carolina might be diagnosed with Ebola while the outbreak is still occurring in West Africa."
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