AMA President, Brian Owler, urged for calm as an Australian Red Cross nurse in Cairns is tested for the Ebola virus, having recently returned from working with Ebola patients in West Africa.

Prof Owler said that Australia has one of the safest and most professional public health systems in the world, and that every possible precaution has been observed since the nurse’s return from Sierra Leone.

“It is reported that the nurse remained in isolation at her home according to health guidelines, and regularly checked her temperature,” Prof Owler said.





“She was taken to Cairns Hospital for observation when her temperature rose. She is now undergoing a blood test, and the results should be known later tonight or in the morning.

“Both the Australian Chief Medical Officer and the Queensland Chief Health Officer have given assurances that all the correct procedures have been undertaken to contain any infection or contamination, if indeed it is Ebola.”

A/Prof Owler said it is not a time for panic or over-reaction.

Federal MP Bob Katter had said earlier that the nurse had put the nation at risk because of her "humanitarian ambitions".

View photos Ms Kovac is currently undergoing testing after returning from Africa. Photo: Supplied More

A/Prof Owler addressed Katter's concerns directly.

“The comments this evening from the Member for Kennedy, Bob Katter, that the nurse should be quarantined for three weeks are totally irresponsible and unwarranted.

“This nurse and other aid workers should be praised for their humanity, bravery, and compassion.

“Mr Katter should cease spreading fear and panic, and leave the commentary to the health experts who have control of the situation,” A/Prof Owler.

Prof Owler today had meetings with representatives of the Australian Red Cross and the Sierra Leone Ebola Action Group to discuss the Ebola outbreak situation and the international response.

Queensland's Chief Health Officer Dr Jeannette Young said Sue-Ellen Kovack had spent a month working in Sierra Leone at an Ebola hospital and returned to Australia over the weekend.

Dr Jeannette Young said, "She's been in home isolation since then, following the protocol that we put in place nationally."

She said the woman developed a low-grade fever of 37.6 degrees this morning and contacted authorities.

The patient is currently being assessed at the Cairns Hospital by infectious disease experts.

The woman who has not been unwell until this morning, does live with a flatmate, but authorities have said Ebola is very hard to transmit.

View photos Dr Young said it was virtually impossible for the nurse to have infected members of the public, including fellow passengers on her flight home. Photo: Supplied More

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