NEW YORK (AP) – A doctor who recently returned to New York City from West Africa is being tested for the Ebola virus.
The doctor had a fever and gastrointestinal symptoms and was taken Thursday to Manhattan’s Bellevue Hospital.
Mayor Bill de Blasio says all protocols were followed and it doesn’t appear the doctor had been showing symptoms for very long or had widespread contact with others. He says test results could come late Thursday.
Health care officials say the chances of the average New Yorker contracting Ebola are slim. Ebola is spread by touching an infected person’s bodily fluids. Someone can’t be infected just by being near someone who’s sick with Ebola.
People with Ebola aren’t contagious unless they’re sick.
Ebola has killed thousands of people in Africa. Only three people have been diagnosed in the US.
