Washington D.C. Hospital Monitoring Possible Ebola Case
A hospital in Washington, D.C. has confirmed that it has hospitalized a patient after they showed possible Ebola symptoms.
A spokesperson for Howard University Hospital announced that a patient was being treated for Ebola symptoms, as they had recently traveled to Nigeria. Another man from Dallas, Texas was recently diagnosed with Ebola after arriving in the U.S. from Liberia. The man had reportedly helped a pregnant woman with the disease go to the hospital while he visited the West African country.
The person admitted to the D.C. hospital is reportedly in a strict isolation unit and is being monitored, both by doctors and the national Center for Disease Control and Prevention.
"In an abundance of caution, we have activated the appropriate infection control protocols, including isolating the patient," hospital spokesperson Kerry-Ann Hamilton in a statement, according to NBC's Washington affiliate. "Our medical team continues to evaluate and monitor progress in close collaboration with the CDC and the Department of Health."
The D.C. Department of Health also released a statement Friday saying it was aware of the patient and was taking all necessary precautions in regard to the disease, that spreads only when symptoms that include vomiting and diarrhea are present.
President Obama has reportedly been briefed on the current Ebola case in Dallas, Texas as health workers there take on the daunting task of sanitizing the infected man's apartment. According to news reports, the family of the infected man has been placed in isolation after it was learned that they had continued using the same sheets and towels the man had used without washing them.
