DOH: Man Being Treated at Mount Sinai Hospital Unlikely to Have Ebola

Officials at Mount Sinai Hospital are treating a patient who recently traveled to a West African country where the Ebola virus has been reported, but the Department of Health says the patient is unlikely to have Ebola.

The hospital says the man walked into the emergency room early this morning with a high fever and gastrointestinal symptoms.

Officials say the patient is in strict isolation and is undergoing tests.

However, at a press conference later in the afternoon, Mount Sinai Health System Chief Medical Officer Jeremy Boal said, “The first thing we’d like to stress is that odds are this is not Ebola. It’s much more likely that it’s a much more common condition.”

Despite that, officials say they were well-prepared and others at the hospital were never in danger.

“It was about seven minutes from the time they hit the door to when they were in isolation,” Boal said.

“Any bodily fluids and any droplets are prevented from contact between the patient and the staff and there is a room outside the immediate room where the patient resides such that the staff can appropriately prepare for entry and leaving the room,” said Mount Sinai Hospital President Dr. David Reich.

The patient is being monitored.

Hospital officials say they will have a definitive answer in the next 24 to 48 hours, but say that the situation would still be under control.

“We believe we have all the necessary facilities to treat any patient with Ebola disease,” Reich said.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention says Americans are not at a significant risk for the virus, which can be deadly when gone unchecked.

There is no cure for the Ebola virus. Symptoms can appear anywhere from two to 21 days after exposure, and include fever, headache, joint and muscle aches, weakness, diarrhea, vomiting, stomach pain and abnormal bleeding.

There is a lot of confusion and misinformation around about how one contracts the virus.

Ebola cannot be transmitted through the air. It is not a respiratory disease, like the flu.

It’s also not transmitted through contaminated food or water.

Only through direct contact with the blood or other bodily fluids of an infected person, who is showing symptoms, can you contract the virus. Exposure to contaminated objects like needles can also put you at risk.

EBOLA INFORMATION

Visit the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s website for information about the Ebola virus.

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