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Physician declared Ebola-free, discharged from New York hospital
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The Médecins Sans Frontières doctor treated for Ebola in New York is free of the virus and was discharged from Bellevue Hospital this morning, according to a press release.
Craig Spencer, MD, tested positive for Ebola after returning from Guinea where he was volunteering and working with patients with Ebola. Upon reporting symptoms, he was placed in isolation and treated at Bellevue Hospital on Oct. 23.
“I am pleased to announce that we were able to treat and cure a hero who put himself in harm’s way to care for others,” Ram Raju, MBBS, FRCS, president and CEO at New York City Health and Hospitals Corp., said in the release. “I could not be more proud of our staff and more happy for our patient.”
Those who had direct contact with Spencer continue to be monitored for signs of the virus, but as of now there are no known cases of Ebola disease in the US.
Spencer self-monitored his condition for 6 days before he was admitted to the hospital for Ebola symptoms. He reported traveling on the subway and bowling within the city, following which the governors of New York and New Jersey instituted quarantine orders for those returning from West Africa.
Spencer thanked the teams that cared for him and also called attention to the continuing effort in the outbreak region.
“While my case has garnered international attention, it is important to remember that my infection represents but a fraction of the more than 13,000 reported cases to date in West Africa — the center of the outbreak, where families are being torn apart and communities destroyed,” Spencer wrote in a statement. “It is for this reason that I volunteered to work in Guinea with Doctors Without Borders.”
During a press conference announcing Spencer’s release, Raju commended the teams that cared for Spencer and advocated for the importance of the public health system during outbreak scenarios.
“In today’s world, my health depends on yours and your health depends on mine,” Raju said. “This episode once again underscores the value of public hospital systems to our country, and the need to support them and preserve them and be grateful to the compassionate and selfless professionals who staff them.”