UPDATE: 9:45 p.m., Friday, Oct. 3, 2014
WASHINGTON — After extensive tests, monitoring and consultations with infectious disease experts, the Shady Grove Adventist Hospital medical team has determined that a patient at the facility has malaria and does not have Ebola.
The hospital released a statement:
“We appreciate the excellent work of our clinical team including physicians, nurses and staff, in handling the care of this patient. We also appreciate the partnership of county, state and federal agencies on this case.”
There were earlier reports that a second person in the D.C. region has been hospitalized with symptoms associated with Ebola.
That patient was admitted to Shady Grove Adventist Hospital last night with “flu-like symptoms and a travel history that matches criteria for possible Ebola,” the hospital says in a statement.
Across the Beltway, a different patient with Ebola-like symptoms has been isolated at Howard University Hospital, spokeswoman Kerry-Ann Hamilton says.
“We can confirm that a patient has been admitted to Howard University Hospital in stable condition, following travel to Nigeria and presenting with symptoms that could be associated with Ebola,” she says in a statement.
Howard has “activated the appropriate infection control protocols, including isolating the patient,” Hamilton says.
Dr. Joxel Garcia, director of the D.C. Department of Health says the agency “has been working with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and Howard University Hospital to monitor any patients displaying symptoms associated with the Ebola virus.”
“At this time, there are no confirmed cases of Ebola in the District of Columbia,” Garcia says in a statement.
Neither hospital can share additional details about the cases because of privacy concerns.
WTOP’s Michelle Murillo contributed to this report. Follow @WTOP on Twitter and on WTOP Facebook page.
