Patient tested for Ebola virus in Calif. hospital

SACRAMENTO, Calif. — A patient at Kaiser Permanente South Sacramento Medical Center is being tested for possible exposure to the Ebola virus, officials confirmed.

The patient has been admitted to the hospital and is in isolation as a precaution, according to Kaiser spokesman Edwin Garcia.

The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention will be testing blood samples to rule out the presence of the virus, Dr. Stephen M. Parodi, Kaiser infectious diseases specialist, stated in a news release.

According to the CDC, symptoms of the often fatal illness are fever, severe headache, muscle pain, weakness, diarrhea, vomiting, abdominal pain and lack of appetite. Symptoms may appear anywhere from two to 21 days after exposure to the Ebola virus, although eight to 10 days is most common. Ebola can only be spread after symptoms appear.

There isn't any anecdote for the virus. Some patients do recover.

Four countries in west Africa are currently experiencing an outbreak of Ebola. According to CDC, there have been 1,229 deaths from the virus in 2014, and 2,240 confirmed and suspected cases.