New York City has its first confirmed case of Ebola in a
doctor who had recently been traveling in West Africa to
treat patients suffering from the deadly disease. Craig
Spencer, 33, was taken to Bellevue Hospital in
Manhattan earlier today after experiencing a 103 degree
fever and other symptoms, reports The New York Times .


An initial test has since confirmed that Spencer
contracted the disease, which has killed 4,877 people
and infected nearly 10,000 across Guinea, Liberia, and
Sierra Leone. Spencer's now in isolation, though was
reportedly bowling and taking Uber for transportation on
Wednesday night, raising questions about whether
others may have been in close contact.
In a statement, Bellevue Hospital said it "designated for
the isolation, identification and treatment of potential
Ebola patients by the City and State," and that New York
City was taking "all necessary precautions" to keep
others from getting the disease.

This is not the first person with Ebola in the US, though
it's the first for New York, which has more than 8.4
million residents . Thomas Duncan, 42, was the first
patient to develop symptoms of the virus in the US after
traveling in Liberia, and died from it earlier this month .
Two Texas healthcare workers then contracted the virus
from Duncan, though both recovered from the
virus. Since then, the US has funneled travelers coming
from Ebola-stricken countries to just five US airports
where they've undergone enhanced screening . The
country's also appointed an "Ebola Czar" to coordinate
the government's efforts to combat the virus.

http://www.theverge.com/2014/10/23/7055165/new-york-patient-tests-positive-for-ebola

A doctor in New York City who recently
returned from treating Ebola patients in
Guinea became the first person in the city to
test positive for the virus Thursday, setting
off a search for anyone who might have come
into contact with him.
The doctor, Craig Spencer , was rushed to
Bellevue Hospital Center and placed in
isolation at the same time as investigators
sought to retrace every step he had taken
over the past several days.
At least three people he had contact with in
recent days have been placed in isolation.
The federal Centers for Disease Control and
Prevention, which dispatched a team to New
York, is conducting its own test to confirm
the positive test on Thursday, which was
performed by a city lab.
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 involved in
containing the virus, especially in a crowded
metropolis. Dr. Spencer, 33, had traveled on
the A and L subway lines Wednesday night,
visited a bowling alley in Williamsburg, and
then took a taxi back to Manhattan.

The next morning, he reported having a
fever , raising questions about his health
while he was out in public. The authorities
have interviewed Dr. Spencer several times
and are also looking at information from his
credit cards and MetroCard to determine his
movements.
Health officials initially said that Dr. Spencer
had a 103-degree fever when he reported his
symptoms to authorities at around 11 a.m. on
Thursday. But on Friday, health officials said
that was incorrect and that Dr. Spencer
reported having a 100.3-degree fever. They
said the mistake was because of a
transcription error.
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 increasingly
contagious.
Mayor Bill de Blasio, speaking at a news
conference at Bellevue on Thursday night,
sought to reassure New Yorkers that there
was no reason to be alarmed.

“Being on the same subway car or living near
a person with Ebola does not in itself put
someone at risk,” he said.
Dr. Spencer’s work in Africa 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 health department .
Dr. Spencer’s fiancée has also been
quarantined at Bellevue. Two other friends,
who had contact with him on Tuesday and
Wednesday, have been told by the authorities
that they too will be quarantined but
whether they will isolate themselves in their
homes or be relocated was still under
discussion, according to a person briefed on
the investigation. None of the three were
showing signs of illness.
The driver of the taxi, arranged through the
online service Uber, did not have direct
contact with Dr. Spencer and was not
considered to be at risk, officials said.

Speaking at the news conference, city
officials said that while they were still
investigating, they did not believe Dr.
Spencer was symptomatic while he traveled
around the city on Wednesday and therefore
had not posed a risk to the public.
“He did not have a stage of disease that
creates a risk of contagiousness on the
subway,” Dr. Mary Bassett, the city health
commissioner, said. “We consider it
extremely unlikely, the probability being
close to nil, that there will be any problem
related to his taking the subway system.”
Still, out of an abundance of caution, officials
said, the bowling alley in Williamsburg that
he visited, the Gutter, was closed on
Thursday night, and a scheduled concert
there, part of the CMJ music festival, was
canceled. Health workers were scheduled to
visit the alley on Friday.
At Dr. Spencer’s apartment building, his
home was sealed off and workers distributed
informational fliers about the disease.

Dr. Spencer had been working with Doctors
Without Borders in Guinea treating Ebola
patients, and completed his work on Oct. 12,
Dr. Bassett said. He flew out of the country on
Oct. 14, traveling via Europe, and arrived in
New York on Oct. 17.
Since returning, he had been taking his
temperature twice a day, Dr. Bassett said.
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.
Doctors Without Borders, in a statement, said
it provides guidelines for its staff members to
follow when they return from Ebola
assignments, but did not elaborate on the
protocols.

“The individual engaged in regular health
monitoring and reported this development
immediately,” the group said in a statement.
Dr. Spencer began to feel sluggish on Tuesday
but did not develop a fever until Thursday
morning, he told the authorities.

At 11 a.m.,
he found that he had a 100.3-degree
temperature and alerted the staff of Doctors
Without Borders, according to the official.
The staff called the city’s health department,
which in turn called the Fire Department.
Emergency medical workers, wearing full
personal protective gear, rushed to Dr.
Spencer’s apartment, on West 147th Street.
He was transported to Bellevue and arrived
shortly after 1 p.m.


He was placed in a special isolation unit and
is being seen by the designated medical
critical care team. Team members wear
personal protective equipment with
undergarment air ventilation systems.
Bellevue doctors have been preparing to deal
with an Ebola patient with numerous drills
and tests as well as actual treatment of
suspected cases that turned out to be false
alarms.


A health care worker at the hospital said that
Dr. Spencer seemed very sick, and it was
unclear to the medical staff why he had not
gone to the hospital earlier, since his fever
was high.


Dr. Spencer is a fellow of international
emergency medicine at NewYork-
Presbyterian Hospital/Columbia University
Medical Center, and an instructor in clinical
medicine at Columbia University.
“He is a committed and responsible physician
who always puts his patients first,” the
hospital said in a statement. “He has not
been to work at our hospital and has not seen
any patients at our hospital since his return
from overseas.”


Before Thursday, more than 30 people had
gone to city hospitals and raised suspicions of
Ebola, but in all those cases health workers
were able to rule out the virus without
performing blood tests.

While the city has stepped up its laboratory
capacity so it can get test results within four
to six hours, the precautions required when
drawing blood and treating a person possibly
sick with Ebola meant that it took until late
in the evening to confirm Dr. Spencer’s
diagnosis.

Doctors said that even before the results
came in, it seemed likely that he had been
infected. Symptoms usually occur within
eight to 10 days of infection. Dr. Spencer
stopped working with Ebola patients 11 days
ago and returned home six days ago.
Ebola is transmitted through bodily fluids
and secretions, including blood, mucus, feces
and vomit.

Because of its high mortality rate — Ebola
kills more than half the people it infects —
the disease spreads fear along with infection.
The authorities have been on high alert ever
since Thomas Eric Duncan traveled to the
United States in September from Liberia, and
was later given a diagnosis of Ebola.
Mr. Duncan died at a Dallas hospital this
month .
Several days after his death, a nurse who
helped care for Mr. Duncan learned she had
Ebola. Two nurses who treated Mr. Duncan
fell ill, but are recovering.

That single case led to hundreds of people
being quarantined or being asked to remain
isolated from the general public.
The missteps by both local and federal
authorities in handling the nation’s first
Ebola case raised questions about the ability
of health care workers to safely treat those
with the disease.

In the New York City region, hospitals and
emergency workers have been preparing for
the appearance of the virus for months.
Dr. Irwin Redlener, the director of the
National Center for Disaster Preparedness at
Columbia University and a special adviser to
Mayor de Blasio, said that the risk to the
general public was minimal, but depended
on the city moving swiftly.

“New York has mobilized not only a world-
class health department, but has full
engagement of many other agencies that
need to be on the response team,” he said.

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

Gbege!

jejemanito:
Gbege!

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