New York patient who went to Africa tests negative for Ebola

A man who was hospitalized in New York City with Ebola-like symptoms after returning from a trip to western Africa has tested negative for the disease, hospital officials said Wednesday.

The unidentified man, who had been kept in isolation at Mount Sinai Hospital since Monday after arriving with fever and gastrointestinal problems, was in stable condition and improving, hospital officials said in a statement.

Now that the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has tested him for the highly lethal virus that has killed hundreds of people in western Africa, the number of confirmed Ebola patients in the United States remains at two.

Nancy Writebol, 59, and Dr. Kent Brantly, 33, remain hospitalized at Emory Hospital in Atlanta.

An Emory spokesperson would not confirm their conditions to the Los Angeles Times on Wednesday, citing patient privacy, but Writebol’s son released a statement saying he has visited with his mother.

“Mom is tired from her travel, but continues to fight the virus and strengthen her faith in her Redeemer, Jesus,” Jeremy Writebol said in the statement, which was released through the Christian outreach organization SIM for which Nancy Writebol was a missionary in Liberia. “We were able to spend a few minutes with her to encourage her and be encouraged by her condition. Her servant’s heart is evident, as she expressed concern for us above and beyond her own circumstances.”

Brantly’s condition on Wednesday couldn’t be ascertained.

The CDC has said that an Ebola outbreak in the U.S. is unlikely.

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