Update 4:21 p.m. 

Angela DeJulius, chief university physician at Kent State, said the university has no specific plans to sanitize or cleanse the Kent State faculty members’ desks that were relatives of the KSU grad diagnosed with Ebola at this time. DeJulius said it was not necessary at this point in time.

DeJulius said because the employes are on a self-monitoring leave, Ebola is a very low risk to anyone on campus.

The university has protocols in place to handle any communicable disease, she said. DeJulius instructed that anyone who has a high fever or any possible symptoms of Ebola to come to DeWeese Health Center for evaluation.

Update 4:11 p.m. 

The Crisis Action System, a state emergency monitoring system, has been updated to level 1, which means Portage County is aware of the Ebola situation and is monitoring it, said Ryan Shackelford, Portage County Emergency Management Director. 

Shackelford said Wednesday that the county health departments have been in discussion in recent months about Ebola. The county’s emergency management department has be sending out information packets about Ebola to EMS and fire departments in the county. The departments have notified first responders that they should ask questions related to Ebola symptoms.

Update 3:37 p.m.

Amber Joy Vinson, the KSU nursing graduate diagnosed with Ebola, came in direct contact with her three Tallmadge relatives, who are also Kent State employees, while visiting them from Oct. 8-13. Vinson did not visit Kent State’s campus during that time, according to a Kent State press release. 

Vinson stayed at her family’s home in Summit County while in the area and returned to Dallas on a Frontier Airlines flight on Monday. She exhibited a low grade fever on Monday. She showed symptoms Tuesday morning, and was not symptomatic during her time in Northeast Ohio.  

The CDC (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention) reported that those infected by Ebola  are not contagious until symptoms show.

The university employes are on a 21-day self-monitoring leave in accordance to CDC guidelines.

Check out the live streaming of Kent State’s press conference happening in the Schwartz Center auditorium at 3 p.m. 

Updated at 2 p.m.

The second confirmed Ebola patient, a nurse who cared for Thomas Duncan, visited relatives in Summit County, three of whom are Kent State employees, before flying out of Cleveland on Monday, according to a university press release.

The university news hotline would not confirm whether the employees had stepped foot on campus Monday or Tuesday. Although they have not shown symptoms of Ebola, they have been instructed to stay off campus for the next 21 days.

Amber Joy Vinson, a Kent State graduate with degrees in life science in 2006 and nursing in 2008, was diagnosed with the disease Tuesday night. She flew from Cleveland on Frontier Airlines Flight 1143 Monday and arrived in Dallas that evening.

Vinson was asymptomatic while visiting Summit County, according to the press release.

The University Crisis Response Team is in effect at University Communications and Marketing, said Mansfield.

Mansfield said anyone can call (330) 672-NEWS for updates and clarification.

Follow @kentwired and check the www.kentwired.com for continuing updates.

Katherine Schaeffer is senior editor for The Kent Stater.

ASSOCIATED PRESS REPORT:

NEW YORK (AP) Health officials are alerting airline passengers who were on the same flight as a Texas nurse who was diagnosed with Ebola the next day.

The 132 passengers were on Frontier Airlines Flight 1143 from Cleveland to Dallas-Fort Worth on Monday.

The hospital worker was involved in the care of a Liberian man who died of Ebola last week at Texas Health Presbyterian Hospital in Dallas.

The airplane’s crew said the nurse had no symptoms of Ebola during the flight. But the next morning she developed a fever and on Tuesday night tested positive for Ebola.

Infected Ebola patients are not considered contagious until they have symptoms. But the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention is asking the passengers to call the health agency so they can be monitored.

The flight landed in Dallas at 8:16 p.m. Monday, stayed there overnight, and underwent a thorough cleaning before returning to service the next day. The cleaning was consistent with CDC guidelines, according to a Frontier Airlines statement released by CDC officials.

The health worker had flown to Cleveland on Friday. Health officials did not immediately release the reason for her trip or where she visited in the Cleveland area. CDC notified the airline Wednesday morning.

The CDC is asking passengers on the Monday flight to call 1-800-CDC INFO (1-800-232-4636).

Copyright 2014 The Associated Press.