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Doctor Who Treated Ebola In West Africa Rushed To New York Hospital With Symptoms

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A doctor who recently treated Ebola patients in West Africa has been admitted to a New York City hospital with symptoms characteristic of the virus.

Dr. Craig Spencer, 33, returned from Guinea ten days ago after working with Doctors Without Borders to treat people suffering from Ebola. He was admitted to Bellevue Hospital in New York on Thursday and is in isolation.

Spencer was taken to Bellevue from his Harlem apartment in an ambulance by specially-trained workers with hazmat suits, according to the New York Department of Health and Mental Hygiene. He developed a 103 degree fever, nausea, pain and fatigue — typical symptoms of Ebola. He’s being tested for Ebola, malaria, salmonella and stomach flu, according to the Daily Mail.

At this point in the Ebola outbreak,  it’s not surprising that a health care worker who’s been caring for Ebola patients could have contracted the disease. But Spencer reportedly did not self-quarantine himself when he returned from Guinea.

Spencer has been out in public in New York since his return. Wednesday night, just before developing his severe fever, he rode in an Uber to a bar and bowling alley in Williamsburg, Brooklyn.

The New York Police Department has reportedly cordoned off the street where Spencer lives in Harlem and health authorities are determining whether to isolate his girlfriend.

It’s not yet clear whether Spencer does have Ebola, but preliminary tests are expected within 12 hours, the health department said in a statement.

The state’s health department is now attempting to trace all of Spencer’s contacts to identify those who may be at risk. If it turns out Spencer is infected with the virus, his activity after returning from a hotbed of the Ebola outbreak could complicate the state’s monitoring of potential Ebola contacts.

Another American health care worker, Amber Vinson, cared for the first U.S. Ebola patient Thomas Duncan, and then flew commercially to Cleveland while infected with the virus. Ohio was forced to monitor 164 people who could have come into contact with Vinson during her trip; none have turned up with the disease so far.

Zero Americans have died of Ebola so far and six have been declared clear of the disease. Dallas nurse Nina Pham is in good condition at a National Institutes of Health hospital in Bethesda.

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Tags : ebola
Sarah Hurtubise