New York, New York – A New York City (NYC) health worker is under Ebola test after feeling ill and reporting a fever. The NYC health worker has been in the Ebola-stricken country, West Africa, whereby volunteering in a medical relief group.
Special unit paramedics who wore protective gear brought in the patient to Bellevue Hospital Center, a renowned urgent care clinic in the city. The city news release indicated that results were expected in 12 hours based on a statement by Health Commissioner Mary Bassett sent on Thursday at 3:19PM.
The United States Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) spokesperson claimed that the agency is aware of the circumstance, and that it’s working with the NYC health department. The CDC spokesperson also pointed out that they are consulting with the city health department, while they assess and employ urgent care towards the case. Thus, NY authorities will announce any plans on testing the patient.
The NY office of Doctors Without Borders/Medecins Sans Frontieres, which is a front line epidemic relief group, stated that its volunteer reported illness to the organization, saying the fever was discovered during self-monitoring. After which, the organization notified the city immediately.
Additionally, the CDC pointed out that all people traveling to the country from Guinea, Sierra Leone, or Liberia will go under Ebola test and monitored within 21 days, which is the maximum incubation period of the Ebola virus. As a sort of an urgent care near me facility, travelers who leave those countries go through airport checkups prior to boarding, and nearly 36,000 travelers have been screened.
When a Liberian man brought the Ebola virus infection to Dallas last month, CDC has assessed about 50 individuals for Ebola, considering the increased anxiety over the virus. Bassett said NY health workers have been tracking all of the patient’s contacts.
The Bellevue Hospital has been assigned to be the Ebola treatment facility in the city, wherein all those suspected to contract the virus will be received and go under Ebola test. Bellevue, unlike other urgent care clinics or health facilities, is a Midtown hospital with 828 beds that is capable of receiving confirmed and highly-probable Ebola cases. According to NYC Health and Hospitals Corp, it has an on-site laboratory, which can manage possible Ebola blood samples.
The epidemic began in December 2013 in Guinea, which spread towards Sierra Leone and Liberia. Since then, the virus affected more than 9,900 individuals within West Africa; about 5,000 lost their lives based on the World Health Organization (WHO) report. In Guinea alone, 1,540 cases were recorded, 904 of them died without going under Ebola test, although a portion of them went through some laboratory tests.
