This article is from the source 'guardian' and was first published or seen on . It last changed over 40 days ago and won't be checked again for changes.

You can find the current article at its original source at http://www.theguardian.com/world/2014/oct/24/doctor-tests-positive-for-ebola-at-new-york-hospital

The article has changed 10 times. There is an RSS feed of changes available.

Version 1 Version 2
Doctor tests positive for Ebola at New York hospital Doctor tests positive for Ebola at New York hospital
(35 minutes later)
A physician who recently returned to New York from Ebola-ravaged west Africa has tested positive for the disease, officials announced.A physician who recently returned to New York from Ebola-ravaged west Africa has tested positive for the disease, officials announced.
Craig Spencer, 33, a doctor who lives in the Harlem neighbourhood of the city, was taken to hospital in New York City on Thursday after displaying symptoms consistent with those caused by Ebola, including a 103-degree fever. Craig Spencer, 33, a doctor who lives in the Harlem neighbourhood of the city, was taken to hospital in New York on Thursday after displaying symptoms consistent with those caused by Ebola, including a fever of 103F (39.5C).
A preliminary test confirmed that Spencer, who had been working in Guinea, has the virus. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) will carry out a further test to confirm the result. A preliminary test on Thursday confirmed that Spencer, who arrived back in New York from Guinea on 17 October, has the virus. Federal officials at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), which has sent a team to New York City to assist city and state officials in the response, will carry out a further test to confirm the result.
Health officials had already said they were tracing the doctor’s contacts, which the New York City mayor, Bill de Blasio, said were not numerous. The CDC has sent a team to New York City. Officials told a press conference at Bellevue hospital on Thursday that they were monitoring four people with whom Spencer had contact. His fiancée and two friends had been quarantined, while a fourth person, a taxi driver, was not considered to be at risk.
Officials say Spencer took a trip on the New York subway and took a taxi to a bowling alley in the Williamsburg area of Brooklyn in the past week, before he began to display symptoms. Spencer took several trips on the New York subway in the past week, visited a bowling alley in the Williamsburg area of Brooklyn on Wednesday night and took an Uber cab, all before he began to display symptoms, officials said.
“It is our understanding very few people were in direct contact with him,” de Blasio told a news conference before the diagnosis was confirmed. “Every protocol has been followed. We’re hoping for a good outcome for this individual,” he said. He began to feel feverish on Thursday between 10am and 11am. He contacted Doctors Without Borders, the organisation with which he had been working in Africa, which in turn contacted the New York Department of Health. Officials organised for him to be transported to Bellevue hospital in the city, a designated site for Ebola patients, under strictly controlled conditions.
Spencer’s apartment in Harlem was cordoned off, and health officials were giving out information to residents. His fiancée was being monitored in a separate quarantine ward at Bellevue hospital. “I know the word Ebola right now can spread fear just by the sound of the word,” said New York state governor Andrew Cuomo at a press conference. “Ebola is not an airborne illness, it is contracted when a person is extremely ill and symptomatic.”
City health officials said returned to west Africa the US within the last 21 days, which is the maximum incubation period for the virus. Officials urged resident of New York not to panic. “I know its a frightening situation, I know when you watched it on the news and it was about Dallas it was frightening; that its here in New York is more frightening,” Cuomo said. “New York is a dense place, a lot of people are on top of each other. But the more facts you know, the less frightening the situation is.”
The physician was transported by a team wearing protective gear to Bellevue hospital with a fever and “gastrointestinal symptoms” on Thursday. Though the city’s statement did not specify, severe diarrhoea is a common Ebola symptom. Spencer’s apartment in Harlem was cordoned off on Thursday night, and health officials were on the scene, giving out information to residents. His fiancée was being monitored in a separate quarantine ward at Bellevue hospital.
“A person in New York City, who recently worked with Doctors Without Borders in one of the Ebola-affected countries in west Africa, notified our office this morning to report having developed a fever,” Doctors Without Borders said in a statement. Doctors Without Borders, known internationally as Médecins Sans Frontières, said Spencer reported his fever immediately to the agency, in accordance with its guidelines for returning field workers.
The aid organisation, known internationally as Médecins Sans Frontières, said Spencer reported his fever immediately to the agency, in accordance with its guidelines for returning field workers. It was unclear whether the doctor had been quarantining himself. “A person in New York City, who recently worked with Doctors Without Borders in one of the Ebola-affected countries in west Africa, notified our office this morning to report having developed a fever,” it said in a statement.
Uber confirmed that one of its drivers had transported Spencer on Wednesday evening. The CDC and the New York department of health assured the company that its driver was unlikely to catch the disease. “We have communicated this to the driver, and the [New York department of health] medical team met with the driver in person, assuring him that he is not at risk. Our thoughts are with the patient and his loved ones.”
Spencer’s public Facebook page, which has since been taken down, showed a photo of him dated 18 September wearing protective gear announcing he was heading to Guinea with Doctors without Borders. It showed him checking into a location in Brussels on 16 October.Spencer’s public Facebook page, which has since been taken down, showed a photo of him dated 18 September wearing protective gear announcing he was heading to Guinea with Doctors without Borders. It showed him checking into a location in Brussels on 16 October.
His LinkedIn profile identified him as a fellow of international emergency medicine at Columbia University-New York Presbyterian hospital.His LinkedIn profile identified him as a fellow of international emergency medicine at Columbia University-New York Presbyterian hospital.
New York Presbyterian hospital released a statement in which it did not identify Spencer by name but called the patient “a dedicated humanitarian on the staff of NewYork-Presbyterian/Columbia University medical centre who went to an area of medical crisis to help a desperately underserved population”.New York Presbyterian hospital released a statement in which it did not identify Spencer by name but called the patient “a dedicated humanitarian on the staff of NewYork-Presbyterian/Columbia University medical centre who went to an area of medical crisis to help a desperately underserved population”.
It said he has not returned to work at the hospital or seen any patients since returning from west Africa, where more than more than 4,500 people have died since the current outbreak began.It said he has not returned to work at the hospital or seen any patients since returning from west Africa, where more than more than 4,500 people have died since the current outbreak began.
Leaders have attempted to reassure New Yorkers that the city and state are safe. City health officials repeated that Ebola is difficult to contract, since people must come into direct contact with body fluids of an infected and symptomatic person.Leaders have attempted to reassure New Yorkers that the city and state are safe. City health officials repeated that Ebola is difficult to contract, since people must come into direct contact with body fluids of an infected and symptomatic person.
Many fears about the disease have swirled around New York’s status as a transport hub. Airports in the metropolitan area process the majority of passengers arriving from west Africa everyday, and John F Kennedy international airport and Newark, New Jersey’s airport, are now among the only airports in the US accepting such passengers. Starting on Monday, passengers from the worst affected countries – Guinea, Sierra Leone and Liberia – will be monitored for 21 days after arriving in the US. Many fears about the disease have swirled around New York’s status as a transport hub. Airports in the metropolitan area process most of the of the passengers arriving in the US from west Africa every day. John F Kennedy international airport and Newark, New Jersey’s airport, are among only five airports in the US permitted to accept passengers from the worst-affected countries – Guinea, Sierra Leone and Liberia,
As part of the governor’s Ebola preparedness plan, two ambulances are being regularly stationed at JFK and Newark airports, the city’s transit authority was provided with protective gear and training, and unannounced drills are being conducted at airports, college campuses and in subways. The governor designated eight hospitals in the state to handle Ebola patients. Starting on Monday, passengers from these countries will be monitored for 21 days after arriving in the US.
To abate healthcare workers’ fears about the disease, New York City held an Ebola educational session on Tuesday. As part of the New York governor’s Ebola preparedness plan, two ambulances are regularly stationed at JFK and Newark airports, the city’s transit authority was provided with protective gear and training, and unannounced drills are being conducted at airports, college campuses and in subways. The governor designated eight hospitals in the state to handle Ebola patients, including Bellevue.
To ease healthcare workers’ fears about the disease, New York City held an Ebola educational session on Tuesday.