Boston Hospital Monitoring Patient with Ebola-Like Symptoms

On top of news that a healthcare worker in Texas has now been diagnosed with Ebola, a patient in Boston who had recently been in Liberia is now being watched closely for signs of of the deadly virus.

A man checked into to Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center with possible symptoms of Ebola. Spokesmen for Harvard Vanguard Medical Associates said the patient will be isolated and watched for further symptoms while the Centers for Disease Control run tests to determine if the patient has the virus. The CDC can take as long as 48 hours to run these tests.

The man was reportedly in the hospital to refill a prescription but told doctors he was feeling worse and had recently been in Liberia.

Authorities later towed the patient’s car away after placing bio hazard stickers on the vehicle.

Harvard Vanguard told reporters that the patient said he had been to Liberia when he arrived at the hospital complaining of headaches and muscle aches.

Deaconess Medical Center was closed on October 12 while assessments were made on whether or not the facilities were safe. By 5:30 PM the building was again opened.

“We are taking all necessary precautions in collaboration with the city of Boston and the department of public health for the potential that this is suspected Ebola,” Dr. Kenneth Sands, chief quality officer at Beth Israel, said on Sunday. “We are only at the stage where we are doing an assessment.”

Also on Sunday more information began to emerge in the second Ebola case in Texas. Dr. David Lakey, Texas Department of State Health Services Commissioner, said that doctors are unsure of just how the healthcare worker contracted the virus.

It has been said that the stricken nurse was in a “low risk” position and had been in full protective gear but she contracted the virus anyway.

But ABC News’ chief health and medical editor said that the latest Ebola case is “very concerning” and worries that US hospitals can’t handle a large scale Ebola outbreak.

Stepped up Ebola screening for passengers arriving at New York’s Kennedy International Airport from three West African countries began on Saturday. Kennedy is one of five international airports inside the US that will see implementation of the new testing procedures.

Follow Warner Todd Huston on Twitter @warnerthuston or email the author at igcolonel@hotmail.com.