Patient in New York City Tests Positive for Ebola

A doctor in New York City who recently returned from West Africa was rushed to Bellevue Hospital on Thursday and placed in isolation while doctors await the return of tests to determine whether he has the Ebola virus.

While the results of the tests will not be known until late Thursday, the health authorities are concerned enough about the possibility that he has the virus that they have started to identify and contact anyone who might have come into contact with him.

'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,' a statement released by the department said.

Officials declined to say how many people that might be.

The man was working with Doctors Without Borders in Guinea treating Ebola patients before returning to New York City on Oct. 14, according to a city official.

He told the authorities that he did not believe the protective gear he wore while working with Ebola patients had been breached.

Graphic: Is the U.S. Prepared for an Ebola Outbreak?

'As per the specific guidelines that Doctors Without Borders provides its staff on their return from Ebola assignments, the individual engaged in regular health monitoring and reported this development immediately,' a statement from Doctors Without Borders said.

The patient began to feel sluggish on Tuesday but did not develop a fever until Thursday morning, he told the authorities. At 11 a.m., the doctor found that he had a 103-degree fever and alerted the staff of Doctors Without Borders, according to the official.

The staff of Doctors Without Borders called the city's health department, which in turn called the Fire Department.

Emergency medical workers, wearing full personal protective gear, rushed to the man's apartment, on West 147th Street. He was transported to Bellevue and arrived shortly after 1 p.m.

While the symptoms the man displayed are similar to those of other diseases endemic in West Africa, including malaria, the health department was proceeding as if the patient had Ebola.

The federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention decided to dispatch a team of experts to assist in the case even before the test results are known.

There have been more than 30 people who have gone to city hospitals and raised suspicions of Ebola, but in all those cases, health workers were able to rule out Ebola without a blood test.

While the city stepped up its laboratory capacity so it can get test results within four to six hours, because of the precautions that need to be taken when drawing blood and treating a person possibly sick with Ebola, officials did not expect to know for certain whether the man has the virus until very late Thursday.

City officials stressed that people infected with Ebola are not contagious unless they are showing symptoms of the disease - which usually occurs within eight to 10 days of infection but can take as long as 21 days. Often, the first sign of illness is a fever followed by muscle pain, nausea, diarrhea and vomiting.

Graphic: Ebola Facts: Where Are the Most New Cases Being Reported?

As time passes, the amount of virus in the body multiplies and the risk of contagion grows.

Ebola is transmitted through bodily fluids and secretions, including blood, mucus, feces and vomit. It is not spread through the air.

There is no cure for Ebola and because of its high mortality rate - killing more than half the people it infects - the disease spreads fear along with infection.

The authorities have been on high alert ever since Thomas Eric Duncan traveled to the United States in September from Liberia, and was later given a diagnosis of Ebola.

Mr. Duncan died at a Dallas hospital earlier this month.

Several days after his death, a nurse who helped care for Mr. Duncan learned she had Ebola. The nurse was the first person known to have contracted the disease in America. A second nurse who treated Mr. Duncan also became infected and is being treated.

Hundreds of people were also quarantined or were asked to remain isolated from the general public out of concern that they might have been exposed to either Mr. Duncan or the nurses who treated him and later fell ill.

The missteps by both local and federal authorities in handling the nation's first Ebola case raised questions about the ability of health care workers to safely treat those with the disease.

In the New York City region, hospitals and emergency workers have been preparing for the appearance of the virus for months.

The city's Health and Hospitals Corporation, which runs 11 public hospitals, has increased training of staff and has also been running drills to ensure that they are ready to react to suspected Ebola cases. Bellevue has been designated as the destination for all possible Ebola cases in the city.

The city also recently started requiring 911 dispatchers to ask callers who have symptoms similar to those associated with Ebola about their travel history. If they report having been in one of the countries at the center of the epidemic - Liberia, Sierra Leone and Guinea - emergency medical workers have been instructed to wear protective clothing when interacting with the patient.