Updated 12:23 AM EST, Thu, Dec 26, 2024

Ebola Virus 2014 Outbreak News Update & U.S. Watchlist: New York Subway Spread Possible?

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With Dr. Craig Spencer diagnosed with Ebola virus disease, most citizens of the city of New York are concerned of spread -- especially because he traveled thru Uber taxi and subway.

City Mayor Bill de Blasio, however, assured New Yorkers that there's nothing to worry about. Speaking at a press conference Thursday, he said: "Being on same subway car or living near someone with Ebola does not necessarily put someone at risk," reported International Business Times.

News.com.au has outlined Spencer's movements since he got back from treating Ebola-infected patients in Guinea on Oct. 17.

"In the ten days since Spencer returned from Africa he went for a jog, travelled on the New York subway, visited a Manhattan bowling alley and caught an Uber car," News.com.au said, quoting health officials.

According to Spencer, he started feeling tired Oct. 21 and it wasn't until the morning of the 23rd when the symptoms started to appear, noted a @PzFeed tweet.

Because Spencer was asymptomatic until Thursday, New York City Health Commissioner Dr. Mary Travis Bassett said that "transmission from sharing a venue or subway car seems unlikely," noted International Business Times.

It should also be noted that per the World Health Organization (WHO), Ebola virus is transmitted via bodily fluids and not through air. Specifically, transmission is "via direct contact (through broken skin or mucous membranes) with the blood, secretions, organs or other bodily fluids of infected people, and with surfaces and materials (e.g. bedding, clothing) contaminated with these fluids," said WHO.

Still, NYC health officials are checking almost all venues in the big city where Spencer was in.

The Gutter, the bowling alley which Spencer visited, is closed for business, tweeted Joel Waldman of FOX 5.

As for the Uber taxi driver who drove Spencer home from The Gutter, a spokesperson told International Business Times:

"We reviewed our records and were able to confirm that one of our driver partners in New York provided a ride to the patient yesterday evening. We immediately contacted the CDC and NYC Department of Health and Mental Hygiene, which stated that neither our driver partner nor any of his subsequent passengers are at risk. We have communicated this to the driver, and the NYC DOHMH medical team met with the driver in person, assuring him that he is not at risk. Our thoughts are with the patient and his loved ones."

Spencer's Harlem home has already been "sealed off by FDNY hazardous materials specialists," reported News.com.au.

NY Daily News stated that according to Bassett, the doctor came in contact with a total of 4 people. "Spencer had contact with the Uber driver, his fianceé, and two friends."

"The friends have been quarantined in their homes. Spencer's fianceé is at Bellevue. None will be tested unless they show symptoms," added the NY Daily News report.

Spencer is currently "isolated in a seventh-floor ward at Bellevue," said NY Times.

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