DC Officials Rule Out Ebola for Person Evaluated at Howard U Hospital

The District of Columbia Department of Health said Saturday afternoon that health officials have “ruled out [a] potential Ebola case at Howard University Hospital.” The city’s health department sent out the message Saturday on social media.

The patient in DC recently traveled to Nigeria and was isolated and tested at Howard University Hospital.

Meanwhile in New Jersey, CDC officials met a plane there Saturday carrying a person who was displaying symptoms similar to Ebola. The United Airlines flight was from Brussels; CDC officials ruled out Ebola for that passenger Saturday afternoon, NorthJersey.com reported.

And in Dallas, where the country’s first Ebola case was confirmed, officials said Saturday Thomas Eric Duncan, 42, is being treated in an isolation ward and is in critical condition, CNN reported. Officials there say more than 100 people who came in contact with the patient are considered at risk. Duncan’s family has been moved from an apartment to an isolated location.

The highly contagious virus, which has caused more than 3,000 deaths in western Africa, could continue to migrate to the United States.

Ebola, a non-airborne virus, is spread through direct contact with an infected person’s bodily fluids. But only minimal exposure is necessary to sicken and kill.

Health officials have stressed that the virus does not spread until a victim displays symptoms, and the Center for Disease Control and Prevention has been educating health providers on how to handle suspected cases. Still, many health officials are highly concerned in no small measure because of the mishandling of the Texas case. A hospital there had sent the patient home while he was symptomatic and left untreated.

Read more: Ebola In Your Town: What’s The Plan?

For information on Ebola symptoms and prevention visit here.

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According to the CDC, the signs and symptoms of Ebola include:

• Fever (greater than 38.6°C or 101.5°F)
• Severe headache
• Muscle pain
• Weakness
• Diarrhea
• Vomiting
• Abdominal (stomach) pain
• Unexplained hemorrhage (bleeding or bruising)
• 2 to 10 days after exposure

Tips to Protect Yourself:

• Wash hands frequently or use an alcohol-based hand sanitizer
• Avoid contact with blood and body fluids of any person, particularly someone who is sick
• Do not handle items that may have come in contact with an infected person’s blood or body fluids
• Do not touch the body of someone who has died from Ebola
• Do not touch bats and nonhuman primates or their blood and fluids and do not touch or eat raw meat prepared from these animals
• Avoid hospitals where Ebola patients are being treated. The U.S. Embassy or consulate is often able to provide advice on medical facilities

PHOTO: Howard University Hospital/from www.howard.edu