A patient admitted by Texas Health Presbyterian Hospital in Dallas has been placed in strict isolation and is being evaluated for a potential Ebola infection 'based on the patient's symptoms and recent travel history,' the hospital said in a statement.
The statement did not say what symptoms the patient was displaying, or where the unidentified person had traveled, although the deadliest Ebola outbreak in history is centered in the West African countries of Liberia, Sierra Leone and Guinea, where it has killed more than 3,000 people and infected thousands of others. There is a separate outbreak in Congo.
The Dallas hospital said it is 'following all federal Centers for Disease Control and Texas Department of Heath recommendations to ensure the safety of patients, hospital staff, volunteers, physicians and visitors.' Test results are expected from the CDC on Tuesday, the statement said.
Zachary Thompson, director of the Dallas County Health and Human Services Department, told the local CBS affiliate that the patient had been in an area where the Ebola virus exists.
'With what we've seen in the media and how deadly the Ebola virus is, it is a concern,' Thompson said.
No Ebola cases have been confirmed in the United States, although several American doctors and aid workers who were infected in West Africa have returned home for treatment. One of them, Richard Sacra, was discharged last week from a Nebraska hospital.
Days later, the National Institutes of Health in Bethesda admitted an American physician who was exposed to the Ebola virus in Sierra Leone.
Possible Ebola patients who were tested in New York, California, New Mexico and Miami all tested negative for the virus.
Entities 0 Name: Dallas Count: 2 1 Name: Sierra Leone Count: 2 2 Name: American Count: 2 3 Name: Guinea Count: 1 4 Name: New Mexico Count: 1 5 Name: Bethesda Count: 1 6 Name: Thompson Count: 1 7 Name: Dallas County Health and Human Services Department Count: 1 8 Name: Zachary Thompson Count: 1 9 Name: Richard Sacra Count: 1 10 Name: Centers for Disease Control Count: 1 11 Name: National Institutes of Health Count: 1 12 Name: Congo Count: 1 13 Name: California Count: 1 14 Name: Liberia Count: 1 15 Name: Miami Count: 1 16 Name: United States Count: 1 17 Name: Nebraska Count: 1 18 Name: West African Count: 1 19 Name: CDC Count: 1 20 Name: Texas Department of Heath Count: 1 21 Name: CBS Count: 1 22 Name: Texas Health Presbyterian Hospital Count: 1 23 Name: New York Count: 1 24 Name: West Africa Count: 1 Related 0 Url: http://ift.tt/1vrDnEx Title: Dallas hospital patient tested for Ebola; results expected Tuesday Description: A Dallas hospital expects preliminary test results Tuesday that may confirm whether a patient there has Ebola. Texas Health Presbyterian Hospital of Dallas placed the patient in "strict isolation" after the person's symptoms and recent travel history raised concerns, spokeswoman Candace White said in a written statement Monday.
