NEW YORK – A health care worker who recently had been to West Africa was being tested for Ebola in New York City Thursday, officials at Bellevue Hospital said.
The man, further identified by CBS station WCBS as Dr. Craig Spencer, 31, who worked with the aid group Doctors Without Borders, had quarantined himself after coming down with a fever and abdominal pains and was later transported to Bellevue, one of eight hospitals in New York State with specialized Ebola units.
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He is believed to have treated Ebola patients in Guinea, the station reports.
Initially, Spencer contacted officials at Doctors Without Borders Thursday morning to report a fever, complying with the organization’s protocols.
“As per the specific guidelines that Doctors Without Borders provides its staff on their return from Ebola assignments, the individual engaged in regular health monitoring and reported this development immediately,†said Doctors Without Borders spokesman Tim Shenk in a statement.
Spencer called 911 after quarantining himself and was taken from his apartment in Upper Manhattan, WCBS reported. An EMS crew, wearing specialized suits, picked him up at around noon.
New York health officials will also be tracing the patients contacts to determine if there is any additional risk, the hospital said. There is currently no confirmation that Spencer has contracted the virus.
Preliminary test results are expected in the next 12 hours, according to a statement from Bellevue.