A potential case of ebola is being treated at a Miami-area hospital. NBC Miami has confirmed that news with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), but little else is known at this time.
The patient's name and background and the specific hospital where he or she is being treated have not yet been released.
Update: Jackson Memorial Hospital tweeted that it had a patient who was suspected of having ebola last week but that the patient tested negative. It's unclear if this is the same case.
No #Ebola at @jacksonhealth. Patient tested negative last week. Every precaution was taken. All agencies worked well in partnership.
— Jackson Miracles (@JacksonMiracles) September 8, 2014_______
The largest ebola breakout in history began last December in West Africa. Three U.S. aid workers contracted the disease while working there and were flown home and treated in American hospitals. Two were cured, but another remains hospitalized.
Scientists believe it's only a matter of time until an infected patient caries the virus to another continent through air travel.
Several scares have occurred, but no such case has yet been confirmed in the States.
The CDC stresses that although ebola is highly contagious, it's transmitted only through contact with bodily fluids such as blood. In American hospitals, doctors believe they can contain the disease effectively.
Follow Miami New Times on Facebook and Twitter @MiamiNewTimes.
