UPDATE: Ill Lakewood Man Has Malaria, Reports Say

UPDATE, noon: NBC Philadelphia is reporting the man who was taken to the hospital after developing a fever and vomiting is believed to have malaria, a mosquito-borne illness.

Earlier reports said the incident began at a nearby condo complex, but Lakewood Police Chief Robert Lawson later clarified the situation began around 9 p.m. Tuesday after a man began to vomit at a Wawa convenience store, causing someone to call 911, the report said.

He had returned from Nigeria about three weeks ago, the report said.

Malaria is caused by a parasite and is spread by the infected female Anopheles mosquito. It is not spread through person-to-person contact, according to the Centers for Disease Control. People who get malaria are typically very sick with high fevers, shaking chills, and flu-like illness.

UPDATE, 10:30 a.m.: State health department officials say a Lakewood man taken to the hospital overnight does not have Ebola, according to reports.

NJ.com reported the man, who was overnight to a local hospital because he had a fever and was vomiting, has a conventional travel-related illness, not the deadly virus, a spokeswoman for the N.J. Department of Health said.

While the patient had recently traveled to Africa, “this person had not even traveled to an Ebola-affected country,” said Donna Leusner, the spokeswoman, told NJ.com. Nor had the patient traveled to an African region where Ebola is prevalent. For that reason, an Ebola test was not deemed necessary, she said.

PREVIOUSLY: A Lakewood man is being checked for Ebola-like symptoms as a precaution, according to a report.

6ABC in Philadelphia is reporting a hazmat crew was called to the man’s condominium complex at Squankum Road and East Kennedy Boulevard early Wednesday.

The man returned from a trip to Africa within the last month, the report said.

This is a developing story. Come back to Patch for more information as it becomes available.