Breaking: Possible Ebola Patient Rushed To Maryland Hospital For Testing

ebola-quarantine-AIDS — University Hospital in New Jersey where a Doctors Without Borders nurse was held in isolation for Ebola symptoms in Newark, Oct. 27, 2014. Nurse Kaci Hickox was isolated at the New Jersey hospital under the state's Ebola quarantine policy; however, New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie later said she could complete her quarantine at home. Reuters

A hospital in Baltimore told staff to prepare for a “potential Ebola patient” Monday night. The University of Maryland Medical Center in downtown Baltimore sent a memo saying it had accepted the patient from the state health department, later confirming the details on its Twitter account.

“We have accepted the transport by DHMH [Department of Health and Mental Hygiene] of a potential Ebola patient for further assessment,” the hospital said in a memo to staff, according to a Baltimore news station. “They are appropriately isolated and receiving further assessment and care.”

The hospital told staff the patient will be isolated in the emergency department as tests for the rare and deadly infection, caused by a strain of the Ebola virus, are performed. The news comes as the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention weighs in on an intense debate about methods to prevent the spread of the virus. It has revised its guidelines to recommend hospitals monitor workers who return from trips to treat the outbreak of Ebola in West Africa.

UMMC has accepted a transfer at the direction of DHMH (Public Health) of a potential Ebola patient for further assessment.
— U. of MD Med. Center (@UMMC) October 27, 2014

They are appropriately isolated and receiving further assessment and care.
— U. of MD Med. Center (@UMMC) October 27, 2014

A nurse was released from a New Jersey hospital after complaining about a forced quarantine, a practice that has been criticized by U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon, but defended by others, including New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie. According to the CDC, the 2014 Ebola epidemic is the largest ever in West Africa, but its risk to Americans is “low.”

“Ebola is spread through direct contact with blood and body fluids of a person already showing symptoms of Ebola,” the CDC has said. “Ebola is not spread through the air, water, food or mosquitoes.”

Twitter Medicine