UPDATE:
A Yale student who reportedly returned from a trip to the West African country of Liberia on Saturday is being monitored for Ebola-like symptoms at Yale-New Haven Hospital in Connecticut, officials said Thursday.
The patient, who has been placed in an isolation room, arrived with a low-grade fever and is currently in stable condition, officials said. The patient sought care from a primary care physician after coming down with a fever, and was then admitted to the hospital on Wednesday night, officials said at a news conference Thursday. Health officials expect to receive the patient’s test results within 24 hours.
“The hospital is working with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and the Connecticut Department of Public Health to have the patient tested for EVD,” the hospital said in statement posted on its website. “The hospital is currently overseeing operations related to the monitoring and care of the patient.”
The hospital has been preparing for a possible Ebola patient “for some time,” a hospital official said at the press conference. “For the time being we’re treating this as a suspected case.”
There will be two nurses monitoring the patient at all times, rotating in and out with other nurses on staff, officials said.
Few people are at risk of contracting the deadly disease, the hospital said on its website, adding that the episode should not stop other patients from seeking out medical care at the hospital.
Officials said the patient had recently returned from Liberia, which has struggled to control the outbreak. Nearly 2,500 of the almost 4,500 deaths in West Africa from Ebola have been reported in Liberia, according to the CDC and World Health Organization.
At least one hospital on Long Island has reported close calls regarding the disease. Nassau University Medical Center in East Meadow last week said two patients were brought to NUMC with a suspected contagious disease in the last month. Test results revealed that they were infected with Malaria. One had recently arrived from Nigeria and another had returned from an unidentified African nation.
Health care workers and first responders on Long Island are continuing to get training about best practices when dealing with a potential Ebola patient. Part of the training includes how to properly put on and eventually take off protective personal equipment.
Two nurses in Dallas have been infected with the disease after treating a Liberian man who died from the virus last week.
One of the largest nurse unions in the country has alleged a lack of training and protocol at the hospital.
On Wednesday, New York State Senate leaders said they plan to hold hearings to measure the state’s readiness in dealing with a possible Ebola patient, and then develop a report with recommendations. Legislatures would then determine how much money to allocate for the state’s response.
