Ebola scare in Cairns Hospital

Sue Ellen Kovack alarmed authorities yesterday when she presented with a low-grade fever to Cairns Hospital after returning from Sierra Leone where she was working as a nurse in the Ebola affected nation.

Queensland Health’s Chief Health Officer Dr Jeannette Young said the woman will remain under observation for at least another 24-hours.

“This is a necessary precaution given the patient has been to West Africa and has had a fever within the incubation period of 21 days,” said Dr Young.

“For the sake of her health and to follow due diligence, we want to be sure she is clear of Ebola virus disease as well as any other disease.”

Ms Kovack will undergo some further testing while in hospital but Dr Young said that regardless of the outcomes of those tests the broader community is not at risk of contracting the disease.

Earlier: Fears a 57-year-old woman in North Queensland may be infected with the deadly Ebola virus after returning home from Sierra Leone.

At a press conference this afternoon, Queensland Health’s Chief Health Officer Dr Jannette Young said a female nurse was admitted to a Cairns hospital after complaining of a “low-grade fever”.

The woman, who works a nurse, has been in home quarantine since returning from a month-long mission of aid work in Ebola-affected Africa, but authorities said she had posed no risk of infection to the community.

“She is not unwell at this point in time,” she said.

Dr Young said there is no risk to anyone in the Cairns hospital where she is being treated.

The woman did not complain of any symptoms before today so there is no risk to others travelling with her on the plane, authorities said.

“I am treating it as if it was [Ebola] … because there is potential and that’s why we’re treating it so seriously,” Dr Young said.

QLD Health said they could have the results of the woman’s test by as early as this evening.

Another suspected case of Ebola was reported on the Gold Coast in September, but the deadly virus was later ruled out.