Patient with Ebola symptoms being monitored in New York

New York, Nov 21 (IANS/EFE) A person showing symptoms of Ebola has been subjected to medical tests at a New York hospital, after returning from the Ebola-hit country of Mali.

The patient, who has not been publicly identified, has been put in quarantine in New York's Bellevue Hospital, according to official sources.

Medical personnel are performing tests to determine if the patient has Ebola and the results are expected soon, an official statement said Thursday.

Meanwhile, authorities Wednesday confirmed that the tests for Ebola performed on a woman who died Tuesday in New York, after arriving from Guinea-Conakry, had turned out to be negative.

The woman had arrived in New York 19 days ago from the West African nation, which is one of those that have been most severely affected by the Ebola epidemic. She apparently died of heart attack.

The only Ebola case diagnosed so far in New York was that of Craig Spencer, who had been working in Guinea from mid-September to mid-October.

After experiencing symptoms and testing positive for Ebola, Spencer was pronounced fully cured and released on Nov 11 from the hospital where he had been quarantined and treated.

Prior to that, other cases, where people have displayed Ebola-like symptoms had arisen in New York, but all of those patients tested negative for the deadly virus.

About 300 people deemed to be at risk of having been infected with Ebola are currently being monitored in New York to determine if they develop symptoms of the disease.

Ebola is a disease caused by the Ebola virus. Symptoms of the disease typically start between two days and three weeks after contracting the virus.

In the beginning, the symptoms may range from fever, sore throat, muscle pain, and headache.

Then, vomiting and diarrhea usually follow, along with decreased function of the liver and kidneys. Some of those affected may also begin to bleed both internally and externally.

IANS/EFE

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