Safe in New York City? NY doctor diagnosed with Ebola

Dr. Craig Spencer, a fellow of international emergency medicine at New York-Presbyterian Hospital/Columbia University Medical Center, tested positive for the Ebola virus on Thursday. The 33 year old physician had been working with Doctors Without Borders (MSF) in Ebola-stricken Guinea until October 12^th. He left that country on the 14^th via Europe and arrived in the Big Apple on the 17^th, according to the city health commissioner Dr. Mary Bassett. “He did not have a stage of disease that creates a risk of contagiousness on the (A and L) subway (lines, on which he traveled on Wednesday night),” Bassett said. “We consider it extremely unlikely, the probability being close to nil, that there will be any problem related to his taking the subway system.”

New York mayor Bill de Blasio agreed, saying that “being on the same subway car or living near a person with Ebola does not in itself put someone at risk.” Nonetheless, and as a safety measure, “the Health Department’s team of disease detectives immediately began to actively trace all of the patient’s contacts to identify anyone who may be at potential risk. The Health Department staff has established protocols to identify, notify, and, if necessary, quarantine any contacts of Ebola cases,” a statement released by the health department said.

At least three acquaintances who came in contact with Spencer – including his fiancée- have been isolated, while the physician himself was admitted to Bellevue Hospital Center, one of eight hospitals designated by Governor Andrew Cuomo as part of an Ebola preparedness plan. On the other hand, a taxi driver who drove Spencer back to his West 147th Street Manhattan apartment from a bowling alley in Williamsburg was not considered to be at risk because he didn’t have direct contact with the physician. The bowling alley was closed on Thursday night, though. At first, health authorities said that Spencer had a fever of a 103 – which would have made him hot blooded (check it and see). However, he actually reported 100.3 fever; a transcription error caused the mistake. He also experienced fever, nausea, pain and fatigue.

He alerted Doctors Without Borders staff of his fever at 11:00 am on Thursday morning. The humanitarian group contacted New York’s department health which in turn called the Fire Department. Emergency health workers, fully clad in personal protective equipment hurried to the apartment, evacuated Spencer, sealed off the apartment and distributed Ebola informational fliers. “The individual (Spencer) engaged in regular health monitoring and reported this development immediately,” MSF said in a statement. Still, the medical personnel at Bellevue wondered why his high fever did not prompt Spencer to go to the hospital earlier. A staff member said the physician looked very sick, to the point that doctors said it was likely he was infected even before test results came back. Bellevue has been preparing to handle an Ebola patient with both drills and actual treatment of suspected cases that were found to be false alarms.

Dr. Spencer is being kept in a special isolation unit and treated by a designated medical critical care team which members wear personal protective gear with undergarment air ventilation systems. Moreover, he has been interviewed by authorities a number of times and his credit card and MetroCard are being investigated in order to retrace his steps. “The chances of the average New Yorker contracting Ebola are extremely slim. Ebola is spread by directly touching the bodily fluids of an infected person. You cannot be infected simply by being near someone who has Ebola,” the city health department’s statement concluded.

Related Read:

Doctor in New York City is Sick with Ebola.

From Guinea to the U.S.: timeline of first Ebola patient in New York City.

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