Patient Nina Pham, center, with her mother Diana Pham, right, and sister Cathy Pham, left, smiles as members of the NIH staff outside applaud during a news conference at NIH in Bethesda, Md., Friday, Oct. 24, 2014. Pham, the first nurse diagnosed with Ebola after treating an infected man at a Dallas hospital is free of the virus. The 26-year-old Pham arrived last week at the NIH Clinical Center. She had been flown there from Texas Health Presbyterian Hospital Dallas. (AP Photo/Pablo Martinez Monsivais)Pablo Martinez Monsivais 

GRAND RAPIDS, MI – Kent County health officials say they are monitoring a traveler who visited a country where there is an Ebola outbreak; however the person is not showing signs of illness and is considered at very low risk for Ebola infection

The traveler did not provide care for or have contact with anyone with Ebola, according to the announcement by the Kent County Health Department. The health department said it was notified of the case by the Centers for Disease Control, which is monitoring all individuals who arrive in the U.S. after travel to Guinea, Liberia and Sierra Leone.

Health department staff will contact the person twice a day for 21 days to monitor for symptoms and to report body temperature, as recommended by the CDC and Michigan Department of Community Health.

“The Kent County Health Department is sharing this information to remain open and transparent, and most importantly, to recognize that this is the first notification of a traveler, and it probably won’t be the last,” said Adam London, Kent County health officer.

Related: Preparing for Ebola in Kent County

“The most important take-away from this is that this is not an imminent health threat, and this individual is at very low risk for illness. We want the general public to remain informed, and trust in our capabilities.” The Ebola virus is spread by direct contact with blood or bodily fluids; it is not airborne or waterborne. The health department said those at highest risk for infection are those caring for a sick person.

“The general public should not be concerned about Ebola if they develop flu-like symptoms,” according to the health department announcement.

The Ebola virus does not show up in a blood test until a person shows symptoms. With only 12 labs in the U.S. able to test for Ebola, the CDC has provided specific guidance and must approve any testing, health officials said.

The CDC began monitoring visitors from countries with Ebola outbreaks last week.

“Increased surveillance and monitoring has been critical in recent weeks and will continue to be critical as long as there are cases of Ebola in the world,” London said.

“Contact tracing and monitoring has been extremely successful in Senegal and Nigeria, where Ebola outbreaks were contained and now, the countries are Ebola-free. We have confidence in the systems and protocols that are in place, and Kent County is fully prepared to monitor anyone with a travel history to an Ebola outbreak region.”

Sue Thoms covers health care for MLive/The Grand Rapids Press. Email her at or follow her on , or +.

Source: http://www.mlive.com/