Victorian health officials say a child who was tested for Ebola in Melbourne is free of the disease.

The child was taken to the Northern Hospital in Epping on Thursday and was transferred to the Royal Children’s Hospital, the designated facility for making assessments about contagious diseases.

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A Department of Health spokesman told the ABC the risk of Ebola was “extremely low” and testing was undertaken “as a precaution only”.

Ebola is a deadly viral infection spread through close contact with bodily fluid. It spread through parts of Africa last year.

The age and sex of the child have not been released in order to protect the privacy of the child and family.

It is not yet clear what caused the child to fall ill.

In February, two Australian girls tested negative for Ebola after returning to home from Guinea, in West Africa.