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Ebola crisis: New York patient tests negative Ebola crisis: Tom Frieden 'confident' US will not see outbreak
(about 7 hours later)
A man admitted to a New York hospital with a high fever and stomach problems after travelling through West Africa has tested negative for Ebola. The head of the US infectious disease agency has said he is "confident" the US will not suffer a large outbreak of the deadly virus Ebola, currently devastating countries in West Africa.
The patient in New York had been isolated shortly after arriving at Mount Sinai hospital on Monday. Dr Tom Frieden told a Congressional panel the US could expect isolated cases but well-prepared hospitals could prevent a widespread epidemic.
An outbreak in West Africa has killed more than 900 people and a state of emergency has been declared in Liberia. More than 900 have died in Africa.
The US infectious disease agency is now operating at its highest emergency response in order to free up resources. Meanwhile, a New York man who had travelled to the region has tested negative for the virus.
Ebola is one of the deadliest diseases known to humans, with a fatality rate in this outbreak of between 50% and 60%. Two Americans who are infected with Ebola were flown this week from Liberia to a hospital in Atlanta to receive treatment.
Ebola is one of the deadliest diseases known to humans, with a fatality rate in this outbreak of 50-60%.
It is spread through contact with the bodily fluids of Ebola patients showing symptoms.It is spread through contact with the bodily fluids of Ebola patients showing symptoms.
Two other Americans infected with Ebola were flown this week from Liberia to a hospital in Atlanta to receive treatment. In response to the African outbreak, the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) is now operating at its highest emergency response in order to free up resources to combat any potential threat on US soil.
They are reportedly improving after receiving an experimental drug called ZMapp, produced by a firm in San Diego, but it is unclear if the drug is responsible for their improving health. "We do not view Ebola as a significant danger to the US because it is not transmitted easily, does not spread from people who are not ill, and because cultural norms that contribute to the spread of the disease in Africa - such as burial customs - are not a factor in the US," Dr Frieden of the CDC told Congress, according to his prepared remarks.
At least one country involved in the outbreak is interested in the drug. "We know how to stop Ebola with strict infection control practices which are already in widespread use in American hospitals."
Nigeria's health minister, Onyenbuchi Chukwu, said at a news conference that he had asked US health officials about access. Nigeria has seen seven confirmed cases. The CDC has sent 50 of its employees to the countries hardest-hit by the virus - Sierra Leone, Liberia, Guinea - as well as Nigeria.
Officials said the manufacturer would have to agree. A spokesman for the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) said director Dr Tom Frieden "conveyed there are virtually no doses available". "We have been able to stop every prior Ebola outbreak, and we will stop this one," Dr Frieden said.
Dr Frieden was expected to testify in front of Congress about the outbreak on Thursday. "Ending this outbreak will take time, at least three to six months in a best case scenario, but this is very far from a best case scenario."
Meanwhile, the two infected Americans, aid workers Dr Kent Brantly and Nancy Writebol, are said to be improving after receiving an experimental drug called ZMapp, produced by a firm in San Diego. But it is unclear if the drug is responsible for their improving health.
Nigeria's health minister, Onyenbuchi Chukwu, said at a news conference that he had asked US health officials about access to the drug. Nigeria has seen seven confirmed cases.
On Wednesday, President Barack Obama said it was "premature" to decide whether or not to speed approval of the drug because there was not enough data.
"We're focusing on the public health approach right now because we know how to do that," Mr Obama said. "But I will continue to seek information about what we're learning with respect to these drugs going forward."
The treatment, tested only in animals, boosts the immune system's ability to fight off Ebola through antibodies made by lab animals exposed to elements of the virus.The treatment, tested only in animals, boosts the immune system's ability to fight off Ebola through antibodies made by lab animals exposed to elements of the virus.
The World Health Organization (WHO) has planned to convene a panel of medical ethicists next week to discuss the ramifications of using an untested drug. The World Health Organization (WHO) has planned to convene a panel of medical ethicists next week to discuss the ramifications of using an untested drug and who should receive it given extremely limited supplies.
In a statement, it said the use of ZMapp "has raised questions about whether medicine that has never been tested and shown to be safe in people should be used in the outbreak and, given the extremely limited amount of medicine available, if it is used, who should receive it". Some public health officials were wary of ramping up production of the drug.
Some public health officials were wary of ramping up production of the drug at the expense of traditional isolation and testing measures. "We don't even know if it works," said Dr Anthony Fauci of the National Institutes of Health.
"We don't even know if it works," said Dr Anthony Fauci of the National Institutes of Health, which helped fund research that led to the drug's development. But Peter Piot, who co-discovered the virus in 1976, urged the drug be made more widely available.
Peter Piot, who co-discovered the virus in 1976, and two other Ebola experts, urged the drug be made more widely available. "It is highly likely that if Ebola were now spreading in Western countries, public health authorities would give at-risk patients access to experimental drugs or vaccines," he said in a letter, along with two other Ebola experts, according to the LA Times newspaper.
"It is highly likely that if Ebola were now spreading in Western countries, public health authorities would give at-risk patients access to experimental drugs or vaccines," he said in statement, according to the LA Times newspaper.
"The African countries where the current outbreaks of Ebola are occurring should have the same opportunity," it added.
The US Food and Drug Administration has separately given the US defence department an emergency authorisation to use an Ebola diagnostic test overseas.The US Food and Drug Administration has separately given the US defence department an emergency authorisation to use an Ebola diagnostic test overseas.
It will be used in labs designated by the defence department to respond to the Ebola outbreak.It will be used in labs designated by the defence department to respond to the Ebola outbreak.