Health officials said Monday that a 5-year-old who showed possible symptoms of Ebola tested negative for the deadly virus. The boy recently returned from Guinea after visiting family for almost a month.
On Sunday night, the 5-year-old boy was transported to Bellevue Hospital Center after exhibiting signs of Ebola. The New York Times reported that the boy was taken by emergency medical workers wearing protective suits and was immediately quarantined.
According to the city officials, the family has recently returned from Guinea, one of the West African nations struck by the deadly Ebola virus. The people who lived at home with the 5-year-old boy were also promptly placed in isolation in their residence.
Though the boy's travel history was clear, it was less certain whether he had any known exposures with people infected with Ebola. Meanwhile, the city's health department issued the negative results of the boy.
"Today, the New York City Department of Health and Mental Hygiene conducted a test for the Ebola virus on a minor patient who had been transferred to HHC Bellevue Hospital Center last night," the NYC Department of Health said in a statement. "This patient developed a fever this morning while under observation at the hospital, and had been in one of the three Ebola epidemic countries in West Africa within the past 21 days."
"The result of the test is negative. Out of an abundance of caution, further negative Ebola tests are required on subsequent days to ensure that the patient is cleared," the statement added. "The patient will also be tested for common respiratory viruses. The patient will remain in isolation until all test results have returned."
On Monday morning, Mayor Bill de Blasio told reporters in a news conference about the 5-year-old boy's health condition. However, he declined to give further information about the child's symptoms. CBS New York reported the New York City Health Department said the boy who showed symptoms of Ebola had been in West Africa in the past 21 days.
"The child was showing some signs of an illness. Not clear what the illness was. We did the cautious thing and brought the child in under the full protocol," the mayor said. "There are pediatric ICU nurses who are specially trained to work with children. There's a lot of sensitivity to make sure we handle this child carefully."
A health official told The Wall Street Journal that when the boy was taken to the hospital, he did not have a fever but then around 7 in the morning, he became febrile.
Meanwhile, Dr. Craig Spencer, the first patient confirmed with Ebola in New York remained in serious but stable condition at the same hospital.
Because the 5-year-old boy is a child and medical experts said children are particularly vulnerable to diseases like Ebola, the city health officials decided to move forward with the tests. And on Monday afternoon, the result was negative.
New York City health officials emphasized that Ebola is only communicable through having exposures with infected patient's bodily fluids and the chances of the average New Yorker getting the virus are relatively slim.
