Kan. Man being Tested for Ebola at KU Hospital

Oct. 14--A patient at the University of Kansas Hospital is being tested for the Ebola virus, the hospital said Monday afternoon.

The Kansas City, Kan., man, who had worked as a medical officer on a commercial vessel off Africa's west coast, went to the hospital early Monday morning with a high fever and other symptoms, said Lee Norman, the hospital's chief medical officer. He was isolated in an infectious disease unit for tests.

The patient is at low to moderate risk of Ebola, but the hospital cannot rule out the disease, Norman said at a news conference that.

The man is a medic in his 40s. He was on the ship until about five days ago, Norman said.

"The gentleman today has done well," Norman said, and seemed to be regaining strength.

Hospital staff members wore protective equipment while seeing him, the hospital said, and will not treat other patients until the person's diagnosis is complete. The patient is being treated in an area with its own ventilation system.

"We think an abundance of caution is just being prudent," Norman said.

The hospital has informed state and local officials, as well as the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, he said.

The case is the second time a patient has been tested for Ebola at KU Hospital. About seven weeks ago, a 23-year-old man who had been in Sierra Leone in Western Africa showed up at the hospital worried that he had Ebola.

That man had brutal chills, fever and muscle aches, all symptoms of Ebola. But tests showed he was having a severe bout of malaria and never had Ebola.

In a statement earlier this month from the Mid-America Regional Council, 10 Kansas City area health departments said they were prepared to handle infectious diseases like Ebola.

Medical experts point to two essentials for stopping an infectious disease outbreak: Having adequate facilities to effectively isolate and care for infected people, and having personnel to locate and quarantine people who have been in contact with someone who's infected.

KU Hospital has designated three intensive-care isolation rooms for Ebola patients. The rooms have negative-air-pressure ventilation systems, so air from the room won't escape when the door is opened. As further protection, each isolation room has an anteroom; if its door is left open more than 30 seconds, an alarm sounds.

Anyone going into the isolation room will suit up in an impermeable gown, gloves that go up to the forearms, booties, a surgical mask and a plastic face shield.

About 15 nurses at KU Hospital have volunteered for special training in taking care of Ebola patients.

Ebola has a 21-day incubation period. Infected people don't become contagious until Ebola's symptoms -- fever, headache, muscle pains, diarrhea, vomiting, stomach ache and bleeding, and bruising -- start to appear.

The virus is spread through direct contact with an infected person's blood or body fluids, like sweat and saliva. It isn't spread through the air.

To reach Alan Bavley, call 816-234-4858 or send email to abavley@kcstar.com.

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