Westchester Officials on Alert for Any Possible Ebola Cases

Although there appears to be no ebola cases in Westchester as of Tuesday, County Executive Rob Astorino and officials said they are monitoring a report of a patient who was not diagnosed with the disease but who exhibited some similar symptoms.

The Journal News reports that a male patient at one of Westchester’s hospitals recently was placed in isolation because he had been in contact with someone who had traveled from West Africa, but so far that patient has not been tested.

“In this case this person did not travel to one of the affected countries,” Astorino told The Journal News.

Since August, “11 inquiries” about possible symptoms have come into county health officials, but none have resulted in any cases of the dangerous in Westchester County.

Northern Westchester County Hospital’s Dr. Debra Spicehandler was quoted in a Miami Herald story about the recent case of the disease in Spain, and she is traveling to Europe, but she is not worried. Hospital staff has been briefed on the disease and will hold a drill this week, she said.

“A plane crash is just as rare,” as catching the disease by being sneezed upon while on the flight, she told Patch’s Lanning Taliaferro.

Below is a full statement from Astorino concerning Tuesday night’s ebola inquiry:

“The Westchester County Department of Health has been proactively encouraging hospitals and other medical providers to contact them if they have concerns about the Ebola virus. This is a best practice that is under way out of an abundance of caution.

Since August, the health department has received 11 inquires including one made last night. Upon review none of the individuals had any risk factors, exposures or indicators that would even warrant testing for Ebola.

Most of the cases have involved people returning from trips and not feeling well. But again, after review, they have not involved Ebola.

The Health Department continues to encourage hospitals and medical providers to contact them if they have any concerns. These calls allow us to review procedures and to be prepared in the event that an actual case is identified.”

For more information on the Ebola virus, please visit the county’s website at: www.westchestergov.com/health

*** To protect patient confidentiality, no further information will be provided by the county about the individuals or the hospital inquiries.

Photo: Westchester County Executive Robert P. Astorino discusses Ebola precautions being taken in Westchester County during a press conference held October 8. He is joined, left to right, by Dr. Ada Huang, Deputy Commissioner of the County Health Department for Disease Control, who specializes in infectious diseases; and Dr. Cheryl Archbald, Deputy Commissioner of the County Health Department for Community Health.

Have a news tip? Email alfred.branch@patch.com. You can also post your own news, events and announcements on Patch by following these directions. Curious about how our new commenting platform, Disqus, works? Learn more about it here and start interacting with your neighbors on Patch.