Colorado patient won't be tested for Ebola: state health officials

DENVER (Reuters) - A patient being monitored for Ebola at a Denver hospital is now considered low risk for the deadly virus and does not yet warrant testing, Colorado health officials said on Monday. The individual, who had a history of travel to an Ebola-affected country, was referred to Denver Health Medical Center after developing a fever, the Colorado Department of Health Medical Center said in a written statement. "In consultation this morning with CDC (U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention), Denver Health, Denver Public Health and Jefferson County Health Department it was determined the patient's condition and low-risk status don't warrant testing for Ebola at this time," the public health department said. The CDPHE said the patient continues to be monitored at the hospital and that health officials were "exercising extreme caution." Latest World Health Organization weekly data showed the epidemic has killed 8,235 of the 20,747 people known to be infected worldwide. The vast majority of cases and deaths are in Guinea, Sierra Leone and Liberia. (Reporting by Keith Coffman and Dan Whitcomb; Editing by Alan Crosby)