Patient with Ebola-like symptoms in New York was in West Africa

A patient with possible Ebola symptoms has been isolated in New York City, and health officials there say they have begun tracing the person’s contacts as they await results of an Ebola test.

The patient, who was not identified, was taken to Bellevue Hospital on Thursday with fever and gastrointestinal symptoms, according to a statement from New York City Health Commissioner Mary Bassett.

The person is a healthcare worker who recently returned from one of the three West African countries most affected by the Ebola outbreak, the statement said.

Doctors Without Borders said in a statement that a person who had recently worked with the organization in West Africa had notified it Thursday morning, per its guidelines. The individual was “engaged in regular health monitoring,” the organization said.

Because of the person’s “recent travel history, pattern of symptoms and past work,” officials in New York said, they have decided to test for Ebola. Results are expected within 12 hours.

In the meantime, officials have begun tracing contacts of the person to determine whether anyone is potentially at risk.

Health officials in New York have identified Bellevue Hospital as a designated isolation facility for the treatment of potential Ebola patients.

Bassett said emergency personnel were wearing personal protective equipment when transporting the patient.

“New York City is taking all necessary precautions to ensure the health and safety of all New Yorkers,” Bassett said, adding that the chances of “the average New Yorker” contracting Ebola are “extremely slim.”

Healthcare workers have proved especially vulnerable to contracting the disease, which is spread through direct contact with bodily fluids.

Worldwide, the Ebola virus is believed to have killed more than 4,800 people and infected more than 9,900 this year. Nearly all of them were in the West African countries of Liberia, Sierra Leone and Guinea.

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