Ebola virus outbreak: Woman in California tested for deadly virus

The patient is being tested by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention

A doctor prepares an Ebola blood sample for analysis (Getty Images)

A woman in America is being tested for the deadly virus Ebola, the California Department of Public Health (CDPH) has confirmed.

CNN reports the woman, who has not been identified, is being isolated in a "specially equipped negative pressure room" at the Kaiser Permanente South Sacramento Medical Center in California.

The CDPH said the 30-year-old woman is considered "low-risk" and tests are being conducted out of "an abundance of caution." There are no confirmed cases of Ebola in the state to date.

In a statement, Dr. Stephen M. Parodi, infectious diseases specialist at Kaiser, said: "We are working with the Sacramento County Division of Public Health regarding a patient admitted to the Kaiser Permanente South Sacramento Medical Center who may have been exposed to the Ebola virus.

"The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) will be testing blood samples to rule out the presence of the virus.

“The safety of our members, patients and staff is our highest priority. Our physicians and infectious disease experts are working closely with local and state public health agencies to monitor developments and share information.”

The results of the test could take several days to process.

It comes as security forces blocked off a township home to 50,000 in Liberia's capital, stepping up the government's fight to stop the spread of the virus.

On Sunday, residents of West Point looted an Ebola screening centre in Monrovia, accusing the government of bringing sick people from all over the city to their neighbourhood. Suspected patients who fled the clinic have since been found and admitted at another facility.

Ebola has killed at least 1,229 of the more than 2,200 people it has infected in Guinea, Liberia, Sierra Leone and Nigeria in the outbreak, according to World Health Organisation figures. Liberia has the highest death toll and its number of cases is rising the fastest.

States of emergencies have been declared in Guinea, Liberia and Sierra Leone as authorities struggle to contain the outbreak.