Patient at Mount Sinai Has Ebola-Like Symptoms, Hospital Says

 A man who recently has been to West Africa went to the emergency room at Mount Sinai Hospital in Manhattan late Sunday with symptoms consistent with Ebola — high fever and gastrointestinal problems, the hospital reported on Monday.

He is being kept in isolation at the hospital while tests are being done for Ebola, a virulent viral disease, but also for other illnesses that could cause his symptoms.

A hospital spokeswoman, Dorie Klissas, said that to protect the patient’s privacy the hospital was not making public his occupation, which country he had been in, whether he had been exposed to a patient with Ebola there, or whether he had close contacts like family members, friends or co-workers who were also at risk. Ms. Klissas said the patient’s blood was being tested for Ebola, but she declined to say when the test results would be available.

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“We will continue to work closely with federal, state and city health officials to address and monitor this case, keep the community informed and provide the best quality care to all of our patients,” she said in an email.
As to whether other patients who were in Mount Sinai’s emergency room on Sunday night were at risk, Ms. Klissas said by email, “All necessary steps are being taken to ensure the safety of all patients, visitors and staff.” But she declined to say what those steps were.
In a statement to employees, hospital officials said that Ebola was spread only by direct contact with bodily fluids, and that infection control measures were being employed to protect patients and staff.
Ian Michaels, a spokesman for the New York City Health and Hospitals Corporation, said that another patient was isolated at a hospital in the city last week after arriving on a flight from West Africa and showing symptoms found in Ebola patients.
That man was screened at Kennedy International Airport on Wednesday night and taken to Bellevue Hospital. He had a fever, but within a day the fever had gone away and it became clear that he did not have Ebola. Mr. Michaels did not know the details of the tests performed on the man.
“We are on a heightened state of alert,” he said. “We have instructed all 11 of our hospitals to follow C.D.C. guidelines and be on the lookout for Ebola-like symptoms.”