A nurse who had returned to Connecticut from Liberia and then developed a fever does not have Ebola, according to health officials. The man had returned to the United States on April 30 and had been working in Liberia assisting at treatment centers in that country.
His symptoms-fever and muscle aches-were consistent with those of Ebola, but could also have been due to many other diseases, said Dr. Paul Skolnik, chief of medicine at the UConn Health Center in Farmington. The man had been admitted to John Dempsey Hospital, part of the University of Connecticut Health Center, on May 12.
The man tested positive for malaria, which is endemic in West Africa. He is being treated for that disease.
However, as a precaution, the hospital activated an Ebola virus protocol. This meant that the patient was isolated and everyone who treated him wore protective gear.
Even though the man had been in Liberia before that country was declared free of Ebola, he was considered to be at low risk for having the virus. He had worked at treatment centers in an administrative capacity and had not had any contact with Ebola patients.
Ebola can only be contracted by coming into direct contact with blood or body fluids from an infected person, or by contacting something that was contaminated with blood or body fluids. A man who survives Ebola may carry the virus in his semen for several months after he has recovered, but the virus is usually clear of other body fluids at recovery.
Liberia was declared free of Ebola on May 9, which was 42 days after the last case was diagnosed. Cases are still occurring in Guinea and Sierra Leone. According to the World Health Organization, more than 11,000 people died of Ebola in West Africa since the outbreak started in December 2013.
