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New York doctor tests positive for Ebola virus

This article is more than 12 months old

Dr Craig Spencer is New York City's first diagnosed Ebola case.

He suffered from the symptoms — a 103-degree fever and nausea — and was rushed to Bellevue Hospital yesterday, Presbyterian Hospital/Columbia University Medical Center said.

The 33-year-old was in Guinea with Doctors Without Borders. 

He returned from West Africa last Friday (Oct 17) and has not been back to his hospital job or seen patients.

The New York Times said he has since been placed in isolation. Healthcare workers are tracing anyone he might have come into contact with in recent days

 A further test will be conducted by the federal Centers for Disease Control to confirm the initial test.

 

New York Post reported that hazardous materials specialists had sealed off the doctor's fifth-floor apartment around noon yesterday. 

Cops blocked off West 147th Street between Broadway and Amsterdam after he was taken to the hospital, witness Oscar Nunez said.

Another witness saw a person wrapped in blankets “like a mummy” being lifted from a wheelchair to a stretcher that was placed inside an ambulance.

The case highlights challenges faced in containing the virus, especially in crowded cities.

It emerged that the doctor had travelled from Manhattan to Brooklyn on the subway on Wednesday night, when he went to a bowling alley and then took a taxi home - sparking concerns about his health while out in public.

A person infected with Ebola cannot spread the disease until they begin to display symptoms, and it cannot be spread through the air.

As the person becomes sicker, the viral load in the body builds, and they become more and more contagious.

Sources: New York Times, AFP, New York Post, LinkedIn, YouTube

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