What We Now Know About New York’s First Ebola Case

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What We Now Know About New York’s First Ebola Case

Ebola-warning
Mott Hall High School student Brian Binion, right, and fellow students read fliers about Ebola risk, near the apartment building of Ebola patient Dr. Craig Spencer, in New York, Friday, Oct. 24, 2014.
Image: Richard Drew/Associated Press

New York City reported its first case of the deadly Ebola virus on Thursday, when a health care worker who volunteered in Guinea fell ill upon returning home in the U.S.

Dr. Craig Spencer, 32, is now in isolation at Bellevue Hospital.

Spencer had traveled to Guinea with Doctors Without Borders, before returning to New York on Oct. 17. He went about his normal life in the city, even riding the subway, taking an Uber car and going bowling in the days before symptoms emerged.

On Friday, health officials in New York revealed additional details on Spencer’s activities, including a detailed account of his movement around the city on Oct. 21 and 22.

Below, see what we know about the patient, the response and what happens next.

The patient is in isolation at Bellevue Hospital and in stable condition

A preliminary test on Thursday evening diagnosed Spencer with Ebola and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) followed up with a confirmation test on Friday.

The secondary test from the CDC confirmed what we already knew from Bellevue Hospital’s diagnosis: Spencer has Ebola. Mayor Bill de Blasio revealed the news that Spencer was now “a confirmed Ebola patient” following the assessment of test results at the CDC’s Atlanta laboratory.

Bellevue

The lobby of Bellevue Hospital is seen, Friday, Oct. 24, 2014, in New York. Dr. Craig Spencer, a resident of New York City and a member of Doctors Without Borders, was admitted to Bellevue on Thursday and has been diagnosed with Ebola.

Image: Mark Lennihan/Associated Press

Spencer, in isolation, was in stable condition on Friday. Health and Hospitals Corp. President Dr. Ramanathan Raju said. Spencer was awake and speaking to family and friends on his cellphone, Raju added, though he declined to comment on the treatment the patient would be receiving.

“It’s basically supporting his electrolyte and fluid balance and making sure his vital signs are monitored currently,” Raju said.

De Blasio added that Spencer was well enough to give authorities a detailed account of his whereabouts for the previous days — helpful information for the disease detectives now tracing down his contacts.

Spencer was in several locations around the city. Officials have added a coffee cafe and a meatball restaurant to the list

Spencer had been in a public park, coffee shop, restaurant, bowling alley, the subway and an Uber car during the two days before recording a fever.

Spencer also visited the Blue Bottle Cafe on the High Line on Oct. 21 and the Meatball Shop restaurant on Greenwich Street. That morning, Spencer had begun exhibiting signs of fatigue, but did not have a fever.

The following day he went for a three-mile run along Riverside Drive, near his apartment. He then took the A and L trains to The Gutter, a bowling alley in Williamsburg, Brooklyn.

The Gutter was cleared by Friday morning. The other locations were still being assessed by the Office of Emergency Management and health officials on Friday afternoon. While the cafe was eventually cleared, the meatball restaurant was still closed. A sign on the Meatball Shop’s door indicated it would be open in time for dinner.

Ebola impacts the West Village. Meatball Shop shut down as Ebola guy ate there. #ebolaballs #NYC pic.twitter.com/HFg1Nt6Wzs

— Brooke Hammerling (@brooke) October 24, 2014

NYC health authorities say they learned from mistakes in Dallas

New York health officials and de Blasio have emphasized that the situation in New York is very different than the one that unfolded in Dallas.

“Look at the juxtaposition of what happened in Dallas and what happened here,” de Blasio said. “It’s an entirely different situation once you are prepared.”

“In abundance of caution, we have been tracking down and have been trying to account for every minute since Oct. 21,” said Health Commissioner Dr. Mary Travis Bassett.

In New York, that includes employing “disease detectives” to break down the trail Spencer left as he weaved through the city.

“The Health Department’s team of disease detectives immediately began to actively trace all of the patient’s contacts to identify anyone who may be at potential risk,” according to a statement from the NYC Health Department.

“The Health Department staff has established protocols to identify, notify, and, if necessary, quarantine any contacts of Ebola cases.”

A specialized team from the Bio-Recovery Corporation were also quickly brought in to assess Spencer’s apartment. Cleaners were spotted entering with Personal Protective Equipment (PPE)

Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) being brought into #Ebola patient’s Hamilton Hts apartment. @wcbs880 pic.twitter.com/LoxIC5avoq

— Peter Haskell (@peterhaskell880) October 24, 2014

The patient’s fiancée and two friends are in quarantine

Three people who came into contact with Spencer while he was symptomatic were under quarantine. His fiancée, Morgan Dixon, and two close friends are all being monitored for signs of the disease.

Unlike Spencer’s own isolation, the three will remain in their homes and engage in self-monitoring and regular checks from the New York health department. The three will be taking their temperatures twice daily.

Dixon’s LinkedIn profile describes her as working in nonprofit management with the New York City’s Hope Program, a career development program for homeless and welfare-dependent adults. The other two people in isolation have not been identified.

Spencer’s apartment is “probably not contaminated”

Spencer’s apartment is believed to be located in Harlem. It remains sealed off.

“[The] apartment is locked right now. It is locked and isolated, that’s the only area in the building where we see any concern,” de Blasio said.

Cleanup crews armed with plastic barrels and gloves entered the apartment Friday.

Officials working near Spencer’s apartment came under fire earlier in the day for disposing personal protective gear in a municipal trash can, but the NYPD said they were never inside Spencer’s apartment.

The subway system has been officially cleared by health authorities

While some New Yorkers have expressed fear over using the subway after learning that Spencer had ridden the A, 1, and L trains the day before he was hospitalized, the subway system has officially been cleared for use by the public.

Person diagnosed with #Ebola rode @NYCTSubway, but health commissioners agree there was no risk to subway NYCTSubway or any MTA employees.

— MTA (@MTA) October 24, 2014

On Friday morning, de Blasio tried to squash New Yorker’s fears by taking the subway for the morning commute.

We are working very closely with our state and federal partners to protect the health of all New Yorkers. pic.twitter.com/Lg8H5fXCtE

— Bill de Blasio (@BilldeBlasio) October 24, 2014

Scenes from Mayor @BilldeBlasio‘s morning commute on the subway. pic.twitter.com/dHxGjfEwAm

— NYC Mayor’s Office (@NYCMayorsOffice) October 24, 2014

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