Update: On Wednesday evening the CDC confirmed that the New York City patient had tested negative for Ebola.
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Fear swept across New York City on Monday after a man was admitted to Manhattan’s Mount Sinai Hospital with Ebola-like symptoms. Although doctors are reluctant to believe the Big Apple has its first case of Ebola, nothing is being ruled out until testing is complete.
Here is what you need to know:
1. The Mount Sinai Patient Is ‘Unlikely’ to Have Ebola
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Despite the fear and media speculation that occurred on Monday evening, New York’s health department said that after consulting with the Center for Disease control, it is “unlikely” that that patient at Mount Sinai has Ebola.
2. He Had Recently Traveled to West Africa
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Although the patient has not been identified, the Washington Post reports that the patient had recently traveled to West Africa. He was admitted to the hospital with a high fever and “gastrointestinal problems,” and was quickly put into isolation.
3. Two Other New York Ebola Scares Happened Last Week
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The New York Times reports that last week, two patients visited New York City emergency rooms fearing they had contracted the deadly disease. One patient went into the emergency room at Manhattan’s NYU Langone Medical Center with a high fever, reporting he had recently visited West Africa. The man was reportedly dismissed when doctors discovered he had not visited any affected countries.
Earlier last week, the Times reports, another patient at Bellevue Hospital Center was briefly put into isolation, sparking Ebola fear.
4. The CDC Is Testing the Patient’s Sample
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New Yorkers should know within the next 24 hours whether the patient currently in isolation at Mount Sinai hospital is definitively clear of Ebola. His samples have been sent down to the Atlanta Center for Disease Control, where they are being tested.
5. Two Americans Who Contracted the Virus in Africa Will Be Treated in Atlanta
Two American missionaries who were working in West Africa became two of three Americans in the region who contracted the disease. Dr. Kent Brantly was moved last week from Liberia to Emory Hospital in Atlanta to be treated. Missionary Nancy Writebol landed in Maine on Tuesday on her way to be treated in the same isolation ward as Brantly.
A third American, Patrick Sawyer, contracted the disease while working for the Liberian government. He passed away in a hospital in Nigeria after flying there for an economic conference.
