After Texas, Ebola Comes To New York As A Doctor Tests Positive For Virus At NYC Hospital
Preliminary test confirms virus in Craig Spencer, a physician with Doctors Without Borders who had been working in west Africa.
By Sadho Ram — 24 Oct 2014, 04:16 PM — Updated about 10 years ago
Craig Spencer, a doctor in New York City who recently returned from treating Ebola patients in Guinea, tested positive for Ebola on Thursday, becoming the first person in the city to be infected with the deadly virus, The New York Times reported
Dr. Craig Spencer posted this photo on his Facebook page before it was deactivated on Thursday.
Image via mshcdn.comThe doctor, Craig Spencer, was rushed to Bellevue Hospital Center and placed in isolation at the same time as investigators sought to retrace every step he had taken over the past several days. At least three people he had contact with in recent days have been placed in isolation.
nytimes.com
The federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, which dispatched a team to New York, is conducting its own test to confirm the positive test on Thursday, which was performed by a city lab. While officials have said they expected isolated cases of the disease to arrive in New York eventually, and had been preparing for this moment for months, the first case highlighted the challenges involved in containing the virus, especially in a crowded metropolis.
nytimes.com
The 33-year-old doctor, hours before he reported having a temperature of 103 degrees, had traveled on subway, visited a bowling alley, and then took a taxi back to Manhattan. Therefore, raising questions about his health while he was out in public.
Police officers stood outside the apartment of Dr. Craig Spencer on West 147th Street in Harlem on Thursday
Image via nyt.comEarly on Thursday October 23, Spencer developed a 103-degree fever, with nausea and other indicators that can be associated with Ebola. After quarantining himself in his apartment and calling for assistance, he was taken to Bellevue Hospital and placed in isolation. Even before Spencer’s Ebola diagnosis was confirmed, officials quickly moved ahead as though he had the disease.
forbes.comOfficials also began the process of tracking Spencer’s movement and contacts around the city. For example, Spencer went bowling on Wednesday night and reportedly used Uber vehicles to get around Manhattan. The authorities have interviewed Dr. Spencer several times and are also looking at information from his credit cards and MetroCard to determine his movements.
forbes.comHowever, as the NYT notes, it is important to note here that people infected with Ebola cannot spread the disease until they begin to display symptoms, and it cannot be spread through the air
Mayor Bill de Blasio said that a doctor admitted to Bellevue Hospital Center on Thursday has tested positive for the Ebola virus, adding “there’s no reason for New Yorkers to be alarmed.”
Image via nyt.comMayor Bill de Blasio, speaking at a news conference at Bellevue on Thursday night, sought to reassure New Yorkers that there was no reason to be alarmed. “Being on the same subway car or living near a person with Ebola does not in itself put someone at risk,” he said.
nytimes.com
According to his LinkedIn profile, he has worked as a doctor at New York-Presbyterian/Columbia University Medical Center, not far from where he lives, since July 2011, The Washington Post reported
NewYork-Presbyterian/Columbia University Medical Center didn’t name Spencer, but in a statement described the hospitalized doctor as “a dedicated humanitarian” who hasn’t returned to work nor seen patients since his overseas trip. “He is a committed and responsible physician who always puts his patients first,” the hospital statement read.
washingtonpost.comEarlier in October, a man in Dallas was diagnosed with Ebola. He later died while being treated at a Dallas hospital.