While a report of someone having Ebola in Cole County turned out to be false, authorities and health officials believe they handled the situation well.
Cole County Health Department Director Kristi Campbell said a call came to St. Mary's Hospital around 9 a.m. Thursday from an individual saying there was an ill person in their household who recently traveled to West Africa and was displaying Ebola symptoms.
Ebola symptoms start two days to three weeks after contracting the virus with a fever, sore throat, muscle pain and headaches. Typically, vomiting, diarrhea and rash follow along with decreased function of the liver and kidneys. Death, if it occurs, is typically six to 16 days from the start of symptoms and often due to low blood pressure from fluid loss.
Officials at St. Mary's contacted the state health department who then contacted the county health department.
"We got out response team together, which is about 40 people, not counting officers who were out on the street at the time," she said.
Police eventually went to the location where the call was found to have come from, an apartment complex on the west side of Jefferson City, and conducted surveillance.
They soon found the address given did not match where the call actually came from; a call-back phone number also didn't correspond.
"There was no quarantining of the area due to the quick determination that the information didn't add up," Campbell said.
The person who made the call could face criminal charges.
Campbell added this was not the first claim about Ebola.
"There was a call last week that also turned out to be false from an individual who had heard about the symptoms of the disease from listening and reading news reports, but it turned out they had another illness," she said.
Although relieved this was a false report, Campbell said the incident did show they need to be prepared in the event a real Ebola case.
"It can happen anywhere," she said. "We discussed all aspects of a potential response, from transporting an ill person and care of the patient to decontaminating the affected house and vehicles."
Campbell said they are concerned there could be copy cats in the wake of this case.
"It is like the boy who cried wolf, but we have to treat every call like it is a real incident," she said.