Child Tests Negative for Ebola in Chicago

A child being tested for Ebola at the University of Chicago Medicine Comer Children's Hospital does not have Ebola, officials said Thursday.

A statement from the Illinois Department of Public Health and Chicago Ebola Resource Network said preliminary test results for the patient were negative for Ebola and those results were later confirmed by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. The child was discharged from the hospital Thursday evening.

Health officials said the child has shown "clinical improvements" since arriving in Chicago Tuesday night after traveling from Liberia but, as a result of dehydration and "out of an abundance of caution," the patient's doctors decided to test the child for the Ebola virus.

A statement from the Chicago Ebola Resource Network on Tuesday said the child passenger from Liberia became ill on a flight to O’Hare and reportedly vomited one time. When the flight landed, federal authorities tested the child and found no other Ebola symptoms aside from the vomiting and said the passenger had no known risk of exposure.

The child initially was transported to Lurie Children’s Hospital for a medical evaluation. The CDC decided not to test the patient after the evaluation, and the child was transported to Comer Children's Hospital for ongoing observation in isolation.

The child’s family, though not experiencing any symptoms, were being quarantined until the evaluation is complete, officials said.

Later Tuesday, an adult passenger traveling alone from Liberia reported nausea and diarrhea. The passenger also reported having been diagnosed with typhoid fever in August.

After being tested at O’Hare Airport, the passenger was found to have had a normal temperature and reported no known risk of Ebola exposure. The passenger was transported to the Rush University Medical Center and health officials determined the patient did not need to be tested for Ebola.

Officials later moved the adult patient out of biocontainment and determined he did not have Ebola.

“City and hospital officials are working closely with the CDC to continue monitoring,” the release said.

The Homeland Security Department announced Tuesday that anyone coming to the United States from one of three West African countries reporting an Ebola outbreak must enter the country through one of five airports screening passengers for the deadly disease—including O’Hare Airport.

Four Chicago hospitals have agreed to take on the responsibility of caring for Ebola patients if the deadly virus emerges in the city.
Mayor Rahm Emanuel's office and the city's health department announced the four hospitals Monday, calling an Ebola diagnosis in the city "unlikely."

Rush University Medical Center and the University of Chicago Medical Center would take adult and pediatric patients, Northwestern Memorial Hospital adult patients only and Ann & Robert H. Lurie Children's Hospital pediatric patients.

The mayor's office says infectious disease specialists from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention are visiting the hospitals this week to determine their capabilities and their needs.

Contact Us