Thursday, October 02, 2014

Ebola in Hawaii?

By Douglas V. Gibbs

Though Ebola has not yet been confirmed, a patient being considered as having Ebola in Hawaii has been confirmed by the Department of Health.

The person is being treated at Honolulu's Queen’s Medical Center.

“We are early in the investigation of a patient — very, very, early, who we’re investigating that might have Ebola,” said Dr. Melissa Viray, deputy state epidemiologist. “It’s very possible that they do and they have Ebola, I think it’s also more likely that they have another condition that presents with similar symptoms.”

There has been no confirmation of any details regarding the patient regarding symptoms, or if the person had recently traveled to West Africa. But officials did say red flags for Ebola include fever and recent travel to that area may exist.

“So it sounds like this person does have a fever and recently traveled to West Africa,” KHON2 asked.

“Again, I can’t be the one to confirm that,” Dr. Viray said.

The reports from Honolulu is that the hospital is evaluating the patient for possible symptoms that may be consistent with Ebola, but there has been no confirmation that the person has the disease.

Safety procedures, in case the patient does have Ebola, are in place.
There is no room designed specifically for Ebola at Queen’s Medical Center, but the hospital says it is equipped to deal with the virus if needed.

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