Test Shows No Ebola in CT Patient Whose Condition Concerned Doctors

By David Gurliacci (Patch Staff) and Rich Scinto (Patch Staff)

Tests show that a medical student suspected of having an Ebola infection does not in fact have the contagious disease, according to numerous reports late Thursday afternoon.

Earlier in the day, Connecticut Gov. Dannel P. Malloy said that if the initial test indicated the patient does not have Ebola, that is considered conclusive. A positive result, however, would need confirmation with a second test, he said.

The student was isolated at Yale-New Haven Hospital, where the patient’s condition is good and improving, hospital officials said at a midday Thursday news conference.

“I would say that the patient is in stable condition, in good condition,” Dr. Thomas Balcezak, the hospital’s chief medical officer, said at a news conference. By mid-day Thursday, the patient was better off than the previous night, a hospital official said.

The student, who had just returned from Liberia with another student, reported a slight fever on Wednesday, so hospital staff donned biohazard suits and adopted procedures for possible Ebola cases.

For instance, the student (whose gender hasn’t been made public), is in a room where air circulates only with air outside the building. The hospital is trying to limit the number of health-care workers having any contact with the patient.

Initial test results were expected back within 24 hours, hospital officials said.

Hospital and state officials have said over and over again that the elaborate safety measures taken with the patient have been made out of “an abundance of caution.” For instance, Yale-New Haven officials don’t think the air-circulation measures for the patient’s room are necessary.

The second student who returned from Liberia earlier this week has shown no symptoms of Ebola, officials said. Neither of the students were in contact with people displaying symptoms of Ebola in Liberia, although one person they were in contact with was later diagnosed with the disease, according to a Yale-New Haven official.

Malloy announced that the state has been making sure hospitals and ambulance workers are prepared to handle possible Ebola cases. The state Public Health Department has been questioning all acute-care hospitals in the state to make sure they’re ready, and within seven days, each hospital has been ordered to conduct a drill to prepare for Ebola care.

Hospital and state officials have said nothing that might identify the patient or the other student, including their ages, genders or whether or not either is married.

Some work has been done by public health officials in finding and talking with people who were in contact with either medical student back from Liberia, Malloy said. More of that would be done if the patient is found to have Ebola, he said.

Read more Connecticut Patch coverage of the Ebola scare from Thursday.

Despite Unfounded Ebola Threat, Elm City Residents Remained Calm

CT Reacts to Ebola-Like Symptoms Found at Yale

Good Communication Facilitated Successful Transport of Yale Patient with Ebola-like Symptoms

Picture: From left: Dr. Thomas Balcezak, the hospital’s chief medical officer, and Robert J. Alpern, dean of the Yale School of Medicine, at a news conference Thursday. (Photo by Rich Scinto)