CentraState: No threat of Ebola for isolated patient
A patient that had recently returned from Africa and was in isolation at CentraState Healthcare System in Freehold after exhibiting flu-like symptoms has been released from the hospital. A spokesperson for the medical center said testing for Ebola was not deemed necessary.
Nancy Writebol, an American aid worker from North Carolina who was infected with the Ebola virus while working in Liberia, arrives at Emory University Hospital in Atlanta, Tuesday, Aug. 5, 2014. (AP Photo/(AP Photo/The Journal & Constitution, John Spink)
"Please be advised that due to our isolation patient's continued improvement, it was determined, in consultation with CDC and the Department of Health, that testing for Ebola was not necessary," hospital spokesperson Abbey Dardozzi told Townsquare Media in an email Wednesday afternoon. "The patient was classified as no known risk and was discharged from the hospital today."
After being admitted to the medical center with flu-like symptoms, the patient's condition began to improve, but health officials confined the individual to isolation as a precaution and infectious disease protocols were implemented. It was determined the person had no known exposure to Ebola.
Although the CDC has stated the Ebola virus poses a very low risk to the U.S. population, health officials in New Jersey have increased their readiness and surveillance at medical facilities throughout the state.
New Jersey Health Commissioner Mary O'Dowd told Townssquare Media earlier this week that medical workers receive training on how to protect themselves and other patients when a particular disease or illnesses is in circulation.
“Physicians and hospital workers follow very specific protocols on how to protect themselves as well as other patients, and how to observe a patient if they have any concerns, which includes protocols like managing a patient in isolation so that they are not around others who are not appropriately protected,” O’Dowd said.
The commissioner said the federal government has quarantine stations throughout the U.S. as part of a comprehensive system to limit the introduction of any new diseases that might come into the country.
As concerns about Ebola continue to spread, officials at a hospital in New York announced that a patient who recently visited West Africa and was admitted with a fever and gastrointestinal symptoms has tested negative for the Ebola virus, according to the Associated Press. The patient arrived at Mount Sinai Hospital Monday.
Associated Press reported that the CDC has said three Americans in the U.S. have been tested for Ebola since the outbreak began. All three of those patients tested negative for the deadly virus.
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