A doctor in New York City who recently returned from treating Ebola patients in Guinea tested positive for the Ebola virus Thursday, becoming the city’s first diagnosed case.

The doctor, Craig Spencer, was rushed to Bellevue Hospital Center on Thursday and placed in isolation while health care workers spread out across the city to trace anyone he might have come into contact with in recent days. A further test will be conducted by the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention to confirm the initial test.

While officials have said they expected isolated cases of the disease to arrive in New York eventually, and had been preparing for this moment for months, the first case highlighted the challenges surrounding containment of the virus, especially in a crowded metropolis.

Even as the authorities worked to confirm that Mr. Spencer was infected with Ebola, it emerged that he traveled from Manhattan to Brooklyn on the subway on Wednesday night, when he went to a bowling alley, and then took a taxi home.

The next morning, he reported having a temperature of 103 degrees, raising questions about his health while he was out in public.

People infected with Ebola cannot spread the disease until they begin to display symptoms, and it cannot be spread through the air. As people become sicker, the viral load in the body builds, and they become more and more contagious.

Dr. Spencer’s travel history and the timing of the onset of his symptoms led health officials to dispatch disease detectives, who “immediately began to actively trace all of the patient’s contacts to identify anyone who may be at potential risk,” according to a statement released by the department.

It was unclear if the city was trying to find people who might have come into contact with Dr. Spencer on the subway. The Metropolitan Transportation Authority directed all questions to the health department, which did not immediately respond to requests for comment on the issue.

At Dr. Spencer’s apartment in Harlem, his home was sealed off and workers distributed informational fliers about the disease. It was not clear if anyone was being quarantined.

Health authorities declined to say how many people in total might have come into contact with Dr. Spencer while he was symptomatic.

Mayor Bill de Blasio, speaking at a news conference Thursday evening before the diagnosis, said Dr. Spencer has given health workers a detailed accounting of his activities over the last few days.

“Our understanding is that very few people were in direct contact with him,” Mr. de Blasio said.

Dr. Spencer had been working with Doctors Without Borders in Guinea, treating Ebola patients, before returning to New York City on Oct. 14, according to a city official.

He told the authorities that he did not believe the protective gear he wore while working with Ebola patients had been breached but had been monitoring his own health.

Source http://www.nytimes.com/2014/10/24/nyregion/craig-spencer-is-tested-for-ebola-virus-at-bellevue-hospital-in-new-york-city.html?_r=0


I think..Its high time we ban flights coming from the US...Cos this man must have infected lots of people

At your last sentence..

1.He most likely has not infected anyone.....ebola can only be caught via close constant contact with the bodily fluids of the infected WHO are actively sick.(And as soon as the doc became actively sick....HE was taken to hospital in an ambulance). You do not get Ebola by touching someone who has Ebola once.

2.As an example...MOST of the people that T.E Duncan...the index case in America came in contact with, have not yet come down with Ebola. The only people who got infected by him were nurses....who came in close constant contact with him.

3.So far, the US is doing what we did...isolating contacts, and treating the infected.

4.Banning flights from the US won't protect us from Ebola....it is our porous borders with other African countries that should concern us more.

5.The reason why so many have died in Liberia, Guinea and Sierra Leone has a lot to do with poor facilities, low numbers of medics, nurses, etc.and poor access to care.

6.The Americans will beat Ebola...they have the resources that African countries can dream of.

They will fly to China, Germany or London then to USA what can you really do?

Once ebola hits china, we're all done for.

This people migrate like roaches, in large quantity.

Oops... That's really bad...

....am I the only one who thinks their Nation should cleanse themselves with SALT and WATER...
...then later try our NANO SILVER (pesticide)


... Quips aside... I hope they recover from this ...likewise Guinea and S. Leone