MGH Patient Monitored For Possible Ebola 'Cleared Medically,' Discharged

A patient who was being monitored for possible Ebola and then tested positive for malaria was “cleared medically” and discharged from Massachusetts General Hospital Friday morning, hospital officials announced in a statement.

The patient’s release and current condition are not a threat to anyone else, MGH officials said. The patient, who has not been identified, had been under the hospital's care since Tuesday.

“As we noted previously this patient had been definitively diagnosed with malaria and is responding well to anti-malaria treatment,” hospital officials said in the statement. “The patient has had no fever or other symptoms for the past 24 hours.”

In a press conference Wednesday, Dr. David Hooper, the head of Mass General’s infection control unit, said the patient had traveled to Liberia in recent weeks, but worked in an administrative role.

Hooper said he did not have the patient's permission to disclose where he worked while in Liberia, but said the patient "did not have direct contact with Ebola patients" and was tested "out of an abundance of caution."

MGH officials also noted in the statement that screening the patient for Ebola afforded them the “opportunity to see firsthand the benefits of the extensive preparations that have been under way through the hospital for the past several months.”

Officials praised their response and said preparations included carefully following Centers for Disease Control and Prevention protocols for treating possible Ebola cases.