NEVER TOLERATE TYRANNY!....Conservative voices from the GRASSROOTS.

New York City . . . . meet EBOLA !

Patient in New York City Tests Positive for Ebola

By MARC SANTORA OCT. 23, 2014 New York Times 10/23/14

A doctor in New York City who recently returned from treating Ebola patients in Guinea tested positive for the Ebola virus Thursday, becoming the city’s first diagnosed case.

The doctor, Craig Spencer, was rushed to Bellevue Hospital on Thursday and placed in isolation while health care workers spread out across the city to trace anyone he might have come into contact with in recent days. A further test will be conducted by the federal Centers for Disease Control to confirm the initial test.

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 surrounding containment of the virus, especially in a crowded metropolis.

Even as the authorities worked to confirm that Mr. Spencer was infected with Ebola, it emerged that he traveled from Manhattan to Brooklyn on the subway on Wednesday night, when he went to a bowling alley and then took a taxi home.

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The next morning, he reported having a temperature of 103 degrees, raising questions about his health while he was out in public.

A photo of Dr. Craig Spencer posted on his Facebook page.

A person infected with Ebola cannot spread the disease until they begin to display symptoms, and it cannot be spread through the air. As the person becomes sicker, the viral load in the body builds, and they become more and more contagious.

Dr. Spencer’s travel history and the timing of the onset of his symptoms led health officials to dispatch “disease detectives immediately began to actively trace all of the patient’s contacts to identify anyone who may be at potential risk,” according to a statement released by the department.

It was unclear if the city was trying to find people who might have come into contact with Dr. Spencer on the subway. The Metropolitan Transportation Authority directed all questions to the health department, which did not immediately respond to requests for comment on the issue.

At Dr. Spencer’s apartment in Harlem, his home was sealed off and workers distributed informational fliers about the disease. It was not clear if anyone was being quarantined.

Health authorities declined to say how many people in total might have come into contact with Dr. Spencer while he was symptomatic.

Mayor Bill de Blasio, speaking at a press conference Thursday evening before the diagnosis, said Dr. Spencer has given health workers a detailed accounting of his activities over the last few days.

“Our understanding is that very few people were in direct contact with him,” Mr. de Blasio said.

Dr. Spencer had been working with Doctors Without Borders in Guinea, treating Ebola patients, before returning to New York City on Oct. 14, according to a city official.

A photograph of Mr. Spencer on his LinkedIn page.

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

Doctors Without Borders, in a statement, said it provides guidelines for its staff on their return from Ebola assignments, but did not elaborate on those protocols.

“The individual engaged in regular health monitoring and reported this development immediately,” the group said in a statement.

Dr. Spencer 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 temperature 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 Dr. Spencer’s apartment, on West 147th Street. He was transported to Bellevue and arrived shortly after 1 p.m.

He was placed in a special isolation unit and is being seen by the pre-designated medical critical care team. They are in personal protective equipment with undergarment air ventilation systems.

Bellevue doctors have prepared for an Ebola patient with numerous drills and tests using “test patients” as well as actual treatment of suspected cases that turned out to be false alarms.

Bellevue Hospital has been designated the center for treatment of the Ebola virus in New York City. Joshua Bright for The New York Times

A health care worker at the hospital said that Dr. Spencer seemed very sick and it was unclear to the medical staff why he had not gone to the hospital earlier, since his fever was high, at 103.

Dr. Spencer is a fellow of international emergency medicine at NewYork-Presbyterian Hospital/Columbia University Medical Center, and an instructor in clinical medicine at Columbia University.

“He is a committed and responsible physician who always puts his patients first,” the hospital said in a statement. “He has not been to work at our hospital and has not seen any patients at our hospital since his return from overseas.”

Even before the diagnosis, the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention dispatched a team of experts to assist in the case, before the test results were even known.

More than 30 people have gone to city hospitals and raised suspicions of Ebola, but in all those cases, health workers were able to rule it out 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, it took until late in the evening to confirm the diagnosis..

But doctors said that even before the results came in, it seemed likely that he was infected. Symptoms usually occur within eight to 10 days of infection and Dr. Spencer was home nine days when he reported feeling ill.

Ebola is transmitted through bodily fluids and secretions, including blood, mucus, feces and vomit.

Where the Patient Is Being Treated

A doctor, who was recently in West Africa treating Ebola patients, was taken Thursday from his apartment in Harlem to Bellevue Hospital Center after he reported a high fever.

The patient is in one of four isolation rooms in the infectious disease ward on an upper floor of this building. The rooms have been designated for high-probability or confirmed Ebola cases. The ward also has a lab to handle Ebola blood samples.

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Because of its high mortality rate — Ebola kills more than half of 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 this month.

Several days after his death, a nurse who helped care for Mr. Duncan learned she had Ebola. Two nurses who treated Mr. Duncan fell ill but have since recovered.

That single case led to hundreds of people being quarantined or being asked to remain isolated from the general public..

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.

Dr. Irwin Redlener, the director of the National Center for Disaster Preparedness at Columbia University and a special adviser to Mayor de Blasio, said that the risk to the general public was minimal, but depended on a city moving swiftly.

“New York has mobilized not only a world class health department, but has full engagement of many other agencies that need to be on the response team,” he said.

Matt Flegenheimer, J. David Goodman, Kia Gregory and Anemona Hartocollis contributed reporting. Elisa Cho contributed research.

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Sources To CBS 2: New York City Doctor Tests Positive For Ebola

Sources: Doctor Who Returned From Guinea Went Bowling In Brooklyn On Wednesday October 23, 2014 7:36 PM

NEW YORK (CBSNewYork) — A New York City doctor has tested positive for the Ebola virus after coming down with symptoms Thursday, sources said.

Tests Thursday evening at Bellevue Hospital came back positive for Dr. Craig Spencer, multiple sources told CBS 2 Political Reporter Marcia Kramer.

NEW YORK (CBSNewYork) — A New York City doctor has tested positive for the Ebola virus after coming down with symptoms Thursday, sources said.

Tests Thursday evening at Bellevue Hospital came back positive for Dr. Craig Spencer, multiple sources told CBS 2 Political Reporter Marcia Kramer.

EMS crews picked up Spencer just after noon Thursday. He was rushed from a building on West 147th Street in Hamilton Heights where he lived.

“Today, EMS HAZ TAC Units transferred to Bellevue Hospital a patient who presented a fever and gastrointestinal symptoms,” New York City officials said in a statement. “The patient is a health care worker who returned to the U.S. within the past 21 days from one of the three countries currently facing the outbreak of this virus.”

Spencer, who is a physician in his 30s and works with Doctors Without Borders, came back a week ago from Guinea, where he is believed to have been treating Ebola patients.

“A person in New York City, who recently worked with Doctors Without Borders in one of the Ebola-affected countries in West Africa, notified our office this morning to report having developed a fever,” Doctors Without Borders said in a statement. “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. While at this stage there is no confirmation that the individual has contracted Ebola, Doctors Without Borders, in the interest of public safety and in accordance with its protocols, immediately notified the New York City Department of Health & Mental Hygiene, which is directly managing the individual’s care.”

Dr. Craig Spencer (credit: LinkedIn.com)

The EMS crews responded to Spencer’s home wore “F Suits,” which are Level D Hazmat gear that covers the entire body, CBS 2 reported.

They stayed with the patient in the back of the ambulance, sources said, so as not to risk possible contamination of the front cabin. A third EMS paramedic drove to Bellevue Hospital.

“After consulting with the hospital and the CDC, DOHMH has decided to conduct a test for the Ebola virus because of this patient’s recent travel history, pattern of symptoms and past work,” city officials said in the statement. “DOHMH and HHC are also evaluating the patient for other causes of illness, as these symptoms can also be consistent with salmonella, malaria, or the stomach flu.”

“The chances of the average New Yorker contracting Ebola are extremely slim,” officials said. “Ebola is spread by directly touching the bodily fluids of an infected person. You cannot be infected simply be being near someone who has Ebola.”

Officials removed the door to Spencer’s building when they arrived on the scene, a witness told CBS 2.

Sources said Spencer went bowling last night in Williamsburg and took an Uber car to get there and back, 1010 WINS’ Carol D’Auria reported.

CBS 2’s Dr. Max Gomez emphasized that New Yorkers should remain calm.

Spencer would not have been contagious until he developed symptoms, Gomez said. Further, Ebola is not an airborne virus like a cold or the flu – it is only transmitted through bodily fluids such as blood, vomit, and feces.

Even if Spencer had some slight symptoms Wednesday night when he was out and about, he would have had to bleed or vomit to have any chance of spreading the virus – and then someone would have had to touch the bodily fluid and rub it into an open sore or his or her eyes, nose or mouth, Gomez said.

“The risk here is as close to zero as you can get,” Gomez said.

Spencer remained at Bellevue Hospital Thursday afternoon, one of eight hospitals in New York state with specialized Ebola units.

New York City has a population of 8 million people plus or minus a couple hundred thousand "undocumented immigrants" and a couple thousand subversive ISIS agents.

That makes me wonder . . . . would a muslim terrorist prefer to blow himself and a hundred Americans up with a bomb laden vest or would he rather carry/distribute EBOLA amongst New Yorkers and possibly infect thousands?