Houston patient will not be tested for Ebola, officials say

HOUSTON — A person with symptoms similar to those caused by the deadly Ebola virus went to Quentin Mease Community Hospital on Monday and has been transferred to Ben Taub General Hospital, according to Kathy Barton, Houston Department of Health and Human Services spokesperson.

But Monday evening, Houston health officials said they will not test the patient for Ebola, because the person does not meet the criteria.

Earlier Monday, first responders moved the patient wearing Hazmat gear.

Ben Taub Hospital, which opened in 1963, is a Level 1 trauma center owned by Harris Health System and is part of the Texas Medical Center. Quentin Mease is also a Harris facility.

Monday the Houston Fire Department said it received a "sick person call," before Hazmat was called. Then more units were called for decontamination.

Surgeon Martin Salia died early Monday from the Ebola virus at Omaha's Nebraska Medical Center. Salia, who was flown to Nebraska from Sierra Leone on Saturday, became the 10th person with Ebola treated in the USA. While all eight Americans have survived, both patients from Africa — including Liberian national Thomas Eric Duncan — have died.

Ebola has killed more than 5,000 people, largely in Sierra Leone, Liberia and Guinea.

A separate Ebola outbreak in the Democratic Republic of Congo, which began in August and is unrelated to the West African outbreak, is now under control. There have been no new cases since Oct. 4, according to Doctors Without Borders.

Contributing: Liz Szabo, USA TODAY