N.C. officials await Ebola results on potential patient
Jessica Estepa, USAToday3:27 a.m. EST November 3, 2014
(Photo: Chris Seward, AP)
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Ebola test results for a North Carolina patient are expected Monday morning.
The person arrived back in the United States on Friday after traveling to Liberia, WCNC reported.
According to Forbes, the traveler flew into Newark Liberty International Airport and traveled to the Durham, N.C., region by bus. The person, who has not been identified by name or age, was then brought by a relative a family home in Person County, N.C.
The traveler developed a fever Sunday and was taken to Duke University Hospital.
The patient didn't have any known exposure to Ebola while in Liberia, the N.C. Department of Health and Human Services said. Further, the traveler has not shown any other Ebola symptoms.
A blood sample from the patient was sent to the state public health lab for preliminary testing.
Doctors will examine the patient for other fever causes.
Though the hospital has not yet received the results, the patient is being treated as a confirmed case by hospital workers, according to a Duke University Health System memo. The memo was sent Sunday to faculty, staff and students.
"The patient is being cared for in the same contained, isolated and secured unit within (Duke University Health) in which an actual Ebola patient would be treated," the memo read. "... We have anticipated this scenario for several weeks now, and a plan to manage it is in place." |
