The first confirmed case of Ebola infection in New York City is now official after an American doctor, who previously worked in West Africa as a health worker, was tested positive for the virus.
Dr. Craig Allen Spencer, 33, a physician who worked with the Doctors Without Borders non-government organization, is now in isolation and being treated at the Bellevue Hospital -- one of the eight hospitals in the state of New York with special Ebola units, reported CBS News.
Before he was taken to the hospital, Dr. Spencer personally quarantined himself after experiencing 103 degrees Fahrenheit fever and abdominal pains, the report added.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has already sent a team to Manhattan to help deal with the fourth confirmed Ebola case in the United States, and the first outside of Dallas, Texas.
The CDC team is expected to conduct further test to confirm the initial Ebola findings on Spencer.
To assuage the public and avert any sort of panic in the Big Apple over the city's first confirmed Ebola case, New York City mayor Bill de Blasio held a press conference on Thursday afternoon, cited ABC News.
"Spencer (has) had symptoms (of the Ebola virus) for a very brief period of time. Our understanding is that very few people were in direct contact with him. He is still in good shape," the mayor was quoted by ABC News as saying.
Travel and Contact History
The New York Times reported that the physician recently returned from Guinea were he also treated Ebola patients. Guinea is one of the West African countries currently facing an Ebola outbreak.
Preliminary investigation of NYC officials showed that Spencer arrived back in the United States on October 17. He entered JFK Airport from Guinea via Brussels, Belgium, noted ABC News.
Before he went down with a fever on Thursday, authorities have also learned that Spencer travelled from Manhattan to Brooklyn on the subway on Wednesday night to play bowling and went back home via a taxi, disclosed the New York Times.
"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," explained the New York Times.
City health officials have also dispatched disease detectives to look into Spencer's travel history, the timing of the onset of his Ebola symptoms, and also actively trace all his recent contacts to identify who may be at potential risk, said the NY Times report.
The 33-year-old physician works in the emergency medicine department of the Columbia-Presbyterian Hospital, noted CBS News.
The hospital also issued a statement after learning of Spencer's condition. "He is a committed and responsible physician who always puts his patients first. He has not been to work at our hospital and has not seen any patients at our hospital since his return from overseas."
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