New York’s Bellevue Hospital is running tests for the Ebola virus on a healthcare worker who returned to the United States from West Africa with suspicious symptoms.
The healthcare worker arrived with a fever and gastrointestinal symptoms within the past 21 days from either Sierra Leone, Guinea or Liberia, the city’s health department said.
Preliminary results from the testing are expected within 12 hours, according to a statement released by the NYC Dept. Of Health and Mental Hygiene.
All of the patient’s contacts are being tracked down in order to identify anyone who may be at potential risk of contracting the virus. The patient, who is being isolated, was brought to the hospital from the airport by specially trained staff who wore protective gear.
The virus has claimed more than 4,500 lives around the world to date, although most of the victims were in the three West African countries listed above. The virus currently has a 70 percent death rate.
At least two cases were identified so far in Texas; both were linked to a traveler who arrived in the U.S. from Liberia. One of the two patients died shortly after being diagnosed and hospitalized with the illness.