Special to the NNPA from The Washington Informer
A patient being treated for Ebola-like symptoms at Howard University Hospital in D.C. does not have the deadly virus, health officials said Saturday.
The District of Columbia Department of Health, and the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention have ruled out the possibility of the patient having Ebola.
“Ebola has very clear symptoms that inevitably worsen over time, inclusive of fever, bleeding from the eyes and a growing rash that consumes over 75 percent of the human body. Based on the clinical presentation of the patient, the medical team was able to rule out Ebola, the patient will be treated for other illnesses,” said Dr. Joxel Garcia, director of the D.C. Department of Health. “The District of Columbia has one of the best disease surveillance and epidemiologist teams in the country, I am confident in our ability keep District residents safe.”
The country has been on edge since a Liberian national in Texas was confirmed as the first confirmed case of Ebola in the U.S.
The patient, who had been traveling in Liberia, began exhibiting symptoms four days after returning to the U.S. He did not show any signs of the virus during his return flight, meaning there was “zero risk” of transmission to others aboard the aircraft, the CDC said.
He was admitted Sunday to the Texas Health Presbyterian Hospital of Dallas and is now in “strict isolation,” according to the hospital.