A 57-year-old Australian woman has been tested for ebola after she developed a fever following her return from Sierra Leone, health officials have confirmed.
The volunteer Red Cross nurse arrived back in Australia at the weekend after spending a month working at an ebola hospital in the West African country.
The nurse, named as Sue Ellen Kovack by local media, followed health rules and has not mixed with anyone since Tuesday when she returned to her home in Cairns, Queensland.
She remains in isolation at the Cairns Hospital but her blood has been flown to Brisbane to confirm whether or not she has the deadly virus.
Results of the tests are expected in the next few hours.
"This morning she rang up ... because she developed a low-grade fever of 37.6C," said Queensland chief health officer Dr Jeanette Young.
"We felt it important that she come into the Cairns hospital and be tested.
"We don't know whether she has that (ebola), but she's been exposed to people with the disease while working in Sierra Leone."
Dr Young said the woman had been feeling well when she landed back in Australia and only started feeling sick today.
Sky News Australia correspondent Jonathan Samuels said the nurse had been interviewed by broadcaster ABC before she left for Sierra Leone.
She told the ABC: "People put up their hands because they have an interest in their fellow man - that's why I'm going."
But local Cairns MP Bob Katter criticised the "irresponsibility" of the authorities and said returning workers should be properly quarantined for three weeks.
"We honour these Australians for being self-sacrificing [but] one person's moral and humanitarian ambitions are being carried out at a very grave cost to Australia."
Australian Prime Minister Tony Abbott has assured his country that measures are in place to treat any ebola cases.
"What we're doing at the moment is we're carefully monitoring everyone coming to this country who's been in West Africa," he said.
"In every state, public hospitals have been prepared to deal with Ebola cases should we get any."
The tests come as pressure grows for screening of passengers at UK airports, ports and railway stations.
It is "entirely possible" that ebola - which has so far killed more than 3,800 people - could reach Britain, said Health Secretary Jeremy Hunt.
The US is ramping up its own response and will carry out extra screening at five major airports after the death of Thomas Eric Duncan, the first man diagnosed with ebola in America.
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Gallery: The Desperate Fight To Contain The Ebola Outbreak
A man rests outside the clinic.
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A woman is comforted after medical officials remove her husband, who is suspected of having the disease.
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Officials try to prevent themselves from spreading the disease.
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A local who has just brought his brother to the centre. He had to rely on plastic bags tied around his hands to try to protect himself.
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A man thought to be infected with ebola waits for treatment.
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Patients wait to be seen by medical staff.
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Workers try to decontaminate themselves.
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A worker with a child who may have caught ebola.
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A make-shift hand-washing station in Monrovia.
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Decontaminated boots of medical staff.
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The basic conditions make containing the disease very difficult.
Meanwhile, in Spain, dozens of animal right campaigners have scuffled with police in Madrid, trying to stop workers destroying Excalibur, the dog belonging to infected nurse Teresa Romero.
The dog was sedated, euthanised and incinerated, said officials.
Mrs Romero remains in a stable condition in the city's Carlos III hospital.
:: Watch Ebola Crisis: A Special Report tonight at 8.30pm on Sky News, featuring exclusive footage from Alex Crawford at the heart of the outbreak in Liberia.
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