Alabama is currently monitoring nine residents for signs of the Ebola virus after a patient reported "Ebola-like symptoms" following a trip to a country where the disease hasn't been completely eliminated.
The patient was admitted at the University of Alabama-Birmingham (UAB) Hospital on Tuesday, Aug. 4. The eight other people were said to have come in contact with the patient, so they were also placed under quarantine. According to Jefferson County Medical Director Edward Khan, the initial patient, whose name and identity have not been disclosed, will undergo diagnostic examinations on Tuesday night to determine if the Ebola virus has indeed been contracted. The results of the tests are expected to be released sometime Wednesday, Aug. 5.
"We had a situation today in which somebody who had recently traveled to a country where there are still some active cases of Ebola had been returned to the U.S.," says Khan. The individual is classified in the low-risk category, which is characterized by the absence of contact with a patient diagnosed with Ebola and nonexposure to high-risk activities including health care tasks and burial events, he adds.
Two relatives of the patient have been instructed by the police to stay at home overnight, says Lt. Joe Roberts of the Birmingham police. The police department patrolled outside the home on Tuesday night.
Two more rescue workers who were noted to have been in contact with the initial patient were under hospital quarantine at UAB. They will be staying at the hospital for monitoring overnight.
Another batch of emergency workers was also quarantined outside the patient's home and was later brought to a fire station within Birmingham. The four individuals are said to stay overnight for further monitoring.
The country where the patient travelled to before returning to the U.S. remains unidentified. Nonetheless, Khan assured area residents that the patient's temperature is being monitored twice daily and other potential Ebola-like symptoms are being watched for. The department's interventions are in accordance with standard policies set following the return earlier of an American resident from a country where Ebola was rampant.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has been notified, says Khan. Aside from the CDC, the state Department of Health has also been informed as a county-level standard.
