IMPORTANT MESSAGE FROM BAYHEALTH IN DELAWARE REGARDING REPORT OF EBOLA

A child from Liberia was brought to the Bayhealth Kent General emergency department on Saturday, October 4. The ED staff completed an initial assessment following the recently updated Centers for Disease Control guidelines for identifying suspected cases of Ebola.

After the assessment, and out of an abundance of caution, the child was admitted to a private isolation room and all CDC guidelines regarding specimen collection, transport, testing and submission for person under investigation for Ebola are being followed.

The State of Delaware Office of Infectious Disease was notified of the admission, who subsequently notified the CDC.

The child is past the 21 day maximum incubation period and it has been determined by the CDC that the likelihood of Ebola infection is extremely low. Since the likelihood is low, the CDC declined to test this child for Ebola.

The patient will continue to be observed in the hospital until the CDC and the infectious disease physician determine it is safe for the patient to be discharged from the hospital.

This patient is past the incubation period and as of tonight is symptom free. Working with state and federal officials, Bayhealth is committed to patient safety and protecting public health.