A patient from the Pennsylvania Hospital is being screened for the Ebola virus

PHILADELPHIA – A patient is being tested for Ebola in a Philadelphia hospital, although officials do not believe the patient is suffering from the life-threatening illness.

According to Penn Medicine, preliminary tests done at the University of Pennsylvania hospital indicate that the person has another health problem. They did not reveal the patient's name.

Officials say the test is done "with great care" because the patient met the criteria for screening for Ebola. They say that it is not known if the patient has traveled to an area affected by the disease or has been in contact with another person.

An outbreak of Ebola was reported just over six months ago in eastern Congo. It is the tenth epidemic of the African country and the second largest recorded in the world.

WPVI-TV in Philadelphia was the first to announce that the patient was being tested.