1st Case Of Ebola In N.Y.

 

NEW YORK — An emergency room doctor who recently returned to the city after treating Ebola patients in West Africa has tested positive for the virus, Mayor Bill de Blasio said. It's the first case in the city and the fourth in the nation.

The mayor said Thursday there's no reason for residents to be alarmed by the doctor's Ebola diagnosis. He said all city officials followed "clear and strong" protocols in their handling and treatment of Craig Spencer, a member of Doctors Without Borders.

Spencer, 33, had been working in Guinea. He returned more than a week ago and reported Thursday coming down with a 103-degree fever and diarrhea. He was being treated in an isolation ward at Manhattan's Bellevue Hospital, a designated Ebola center.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, which will do a further test to confirm the initial results, has dispatched an Ebola response team to New York, and the city's disease detectives have been tracing the doctor's contacts to identify anyone who may be at risk. The city's health commissioner, Mary Bassett, said Spencer's fiancee and two friends had been quarantined.

City officials say Spencer acknowledged riding the subway and taking a cab to a Brooklyn bowling alley in the past week before he started showing symptoms.

His Harlem apartment was cordoned off, and his fiancee, who was not showing symptoms, was being watched in a quarantine ward at Bellevue. The Department of Health was on site across the street from the apartment building Thursday night, giving out information to area residents.

  According to a rough timeline provided by city officials, Spencer's symptoms developed Wednesday, prompting him to isolate himself in his apartment. When he felt worse Thursday, he and his fiancee made a joint call to authorities to detail his symptoms and his travels. EMT's in full Ebola gear arrived and took him to Bellevue in an ambulance surrounded by police squad cars
Entire story athttp://www.pressofatlanticcity.com/alerts_breaking/doctor-in-new-york-city-tests-positive-for-ebola/article_603257ca-5b19-11e4-b332-d7b8f4f562b5.html

http://www.nbcnews.com/storyline/ebola-virus-outbreak/after-ebola-diagnosis-shrugs-fear-new-york-city-n232841
 
Update - 10/24/14 Patient is stable
http://www.nbcnews.com/storyline/ebola-virus-outbreak/nyc-ebola-patient-dr-craig-spencer-stable-condition-n233131