Health Care Worker from W. Africa in NY Hospital with Ebola-Like Symptoms

U.S. Customs and Border Protection officers perform enhanced passenger screening of an international traveler, who recently visited Guinea, at Atlanta's International Airport Oct. 16, 2014.

VOA News

October 23, 2014 5:28 PM

A health care worker who just returned to New York from West Africa has been rushed to a hospital after complaining of a high fever and nausea.
The medical aid group Doctors Without Borders said the patient worked in one of the countries affected by the Ebola outbreak.
It would not identify the man or where he worked. The group informed New York health officials who transported him to the city's Bellevue Hospital for testing.
The Ebola outbreak is concentrated in three West African countries - Guinea, Liberia, and Sierra Leone.
It has killed close to 4,900 people, including victims in the United Sates and Spain. There are almost 10,000 confirmed or probable cases.
World Health Organization officials said after emergency talks in Geneva that the fight against the disease must remain focused on those three West African countries.
It also recommends travelers leaving those countries be screened at airports, seaports, and land border crossings.
U.S. government health officials are ordering travelers from Guinea, Liberia, and Sierra Leone to monitor their health for 21 days and give local health departments daily reports.
The monitoring program starts Monday in six eastern states - Georgia, Maryland, New Jersey, New York, Pennsylvania and Virginia - where the majority of those travelers would visit. They will be given an Ebola kit when they arrive at airports, including a thermometer.