New York Doctor Tests Positive for Ebola | WPN World People News

A New York City doctor who recently treated Ebola victims in Guinea has become the first person in the U.S. city to be diagnosed with the virus

At an evening news conference, Mayor Bill de Blasio confirmed the case, saying Dr. Craig Spencer has been placed in isolation and there is no cause for alarm.

"Ebola is an extremely hard disease to contract. It is transmitted only through a contact with the infected person's blood or other bodily fluids - not through casual contact. New Yorkers who have not been exposed to an infected person's bodily fluids are not at all at risk," said de Blasio.

Spencer on Thursday notified the medical charity Doctors Without Borders - where he worked - that he had a high fever and was nauseous; two symptoms of Ebola.

Officials are now looking for anyone who may have had contact with Spencer. He would be the fourth person diagnosed with Ebola on U.S. soil, and the first in New York.

Earlier Thursday, the West African nation of Mali reported its first case of Ebola, in what many warn could be another major setback to efforts to contain the disease.

Health Minister Ousmane Kone said on state television the patient is a two-year-old girl who was brought to a hospital from neighboring Guinea.

"I can say it's a two-year-old girl who traveled accompanied by her grandmother. It is possible that these two people arrived at a time when the symptoms were not detectable, but that the illness evolved," said Kone.

Kone said the young girl's condition is improving thanks to quick treatment. She is in the western town of Kayes.

The Ebola outbreak is concentrated in three West African countries -- Guinea, Liberia and Sierra Leone.

It has killed close to 4,900 people. There are almost 10,000 confirmed or probable cases.

U.S. government health officials are ordering travelers from Guinea, Liberia and Sierra Leone to monitor their health for 21 days and give local health departments daily reports.

The monitoring program starts Monday in six eastern states - Georgia, Maryland, New Jersey, New York, Pennsylvania and Virginia - where the majority of those travelers would visit. They will be given an Ebola kit when they arrive at airports, including a thermometer.

In the latest case in New York, Governor Andrew Cuomo said Dr. Spencer was familiar with symptoms and handled himself accordingly once he experienced symptoms.

Cuomo said the city is "as ready as one can be for this circumstance" and has been preparing for weeks to handle a possible Ebola case.

The earlier Ebola cases in the U.S. include a Liberian man who died in a Dallas, Texas hospital two weeks ago. Two nurses who treated him are currently hospitalized, but are said to be doing well.

Source: Voice of America