Patient With Ebola Symptoms Enters Washington Hospital

A patient with symptoms that could be associated with the deadly Ebola virus and a recent travel history to Nigeria was admitted to a Washington-area hospital last Friday.

"We can confirm that a patient has been admitted to Howard University Hospital in stable condition, following travel to Nigeria and presenting with symptoms that could be associated with Ebola," said Howard University spokeswoman Kerry-Ann Hamilton.

"In an abundance of caution, we have activated the appropriate infection control protocols, including isolating the patient."

No further details were released about the patient. Symptoms of Ebola can include fever, aches and pains, vomiting and diarrhea.

The virus is spread through close contact with the bodily fluids of an infected person. The first diagnosed case of Ebola in the United States was announced on Tuesday, after a man from Liberia who had traveled to Texas fell ill days after he arrived.

Nigeria is one of five West African nations that have battled Ebola this year, but has had fewer than two dozen cases and as many as eight deaths linked to the arrival of a sick airline passenger from Liberia, far less than the thousands of infections in neighboring countries.

Nigeria's president declared the nation Ebola-free at a UN meeting late last month. US and global health authorities have said Nigeria was near to being able to announce an end to the outbreak there, which can only be established once 42 days have passed since the last infection.

More than 3,300 people have died across Sierra Leone, Liberia, Guinea, Nigeria and Senegal already this year, in the world's largest outbreak of Ebola in history.

Source: AFP