Ebola in NYC: 5-Year-Old Boy Is Undergoing Test for Ebola in New York
Bellevue Hospital Center in New York City is testing another possible victim of Ebola.
Last week, 33-year-old Dr. Craig Spencer tested positive for the deadly virus and was placed in isolation at the Manhattan hospital. He contacted authorities Thursday when he began showing symptoms of Ebola weeks after returning from Guinea, where he worked with Doctors Without Borders and treated Ebola patients.
On Sunday, a 5-year-old boy from The Bronx, New York was rushed to the hospital after he started showing symptoms consistent with the disease. The boy, who has not been identified, recently returned from Guinea, reports the New York Times.
City Health Commissioner Dr. Mary Travis talked about the boy during an interview on MSNBC's "Morning Joe," saying, "He has ... traveled to one of the three affected countries and has a fever, and that's what triggers an assessment," according to Reuters.
Officials say results from the test should be released sometime on Monday.
People who lived in the home with the boy were also placed in quarantine, according to city officials.
"As a further precaution, the health department's team of disease detectives has begun to actively trace all of the patient's contacts to identify anyone who may be at potential risk," said the city health department in a statement, according to the NYT.
WABC-TV reported that Dr. Craig Spencer was in serious but stable condition at the same hospital.
Last week Real Estate mogul Donald Trump declared the president is to blame for the Ebola cases in the United States and demand travel bans to prevent people who have visited or live in one of the Ebola-stricken West African countries from coming to America.
"President Obama, you are a complete and total disaster, but you have a chance to do something great and important: STOP THE FLIGHTS!" he tweeted.
However, contrary to Trump's call for more border security, the World Health Organization, Red Cross and U.S. Centers for Disease Control stated that travel bans and border closures would not effectively stop the spread of disease.
"Those are not solutions," said Elhadj As Sy, Secretary General of the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies, according to the Huffington Post. "The only solution is how can we join our efforts to contain those kinds of viruses and epidemics at their epicenter, right where they start."
Subscribe to Latin Post!
Sign up for our free newsletter for the Latest coverage!