A man who recently visited West Africa and had a high fever and gastrointestinal symptoms was placed in isolation at a New York hospital on Monday and was being tested for possible Ebola but likely didn't have it, health officials said.


"Odds are, this is not Ebola," said Dr. Jeremy Boal, chief medical officer at Mount Sinai Health System in Manhattan.

Boal said he expected a definitive answer about the man's condition within a day or two.

The male patient with a high fever and gastrointestinal symptoms came in Monday. The hospital says it placed him strict isolation.

Mount Sinai Medical Center where a male patient with a high fever and gastrointestinal symptoms is undergoing testing for the Ebola virus following a recent trip to West Africa, Monday, Aug. 4, 2014, in New York. (AP Photo/John Minchillo)
Mount Sinai Medical Center where a male patient with a high fever and gastrointestinal symptoms is undergoing testing for the Ebola virus following a recent trip to West Africa, Monday, Aug. 4, 2014, in New York. (AP Photo/John Minchillo)
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The report comes as officials at U.S. airports are watching travelers from Africa for flu-like symptoms that could be tied to the recent Ebola outbreak.

The Ebola virus causes a hemorrhagic fever that has sickened more than 1,300 in Africa, killing more than 700 mostly in Liberia, Guinea and Sierra Leone.

It is spread through direct contact with bodily fluids, such as blood or urine.

Health officials say the threat to Americans remains small.

 

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