US Ebola Outbreak: Possible Ebola Patients Being Monitored At DC Hospital, Georgia Jail

A patient who recently returned from traveling to Nigeria has been admitted to a hospital in Washington, D.C., with Ebola-like symptoms. The patient, whose name has not been released, was being isolated and tested at Howard University Hospital Friday afternoon, a hospital spokeswoman said in a statement. Meanwhile, a Georgia jail was testing an inmate for Ebola Friday after he developed a fever. The man told jail officials he had recently traveled to Africa, according to WSB-TV in Atlanta.

"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,” Howard spokeswoman Dr. Kerry-Ann Hamilton said in a statement Friday. “In an abundance of caution, we have activated the appropriate infection control protocols, including isolating the patient. Our medical team continues to evaluate and monitor progress in close collaboration with the CDC and the Department of Health."

Hamilton, who said the hospital is working with the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention to determine whether he indeed has the disease, declined to release any other details about the patient in order to protect his or her privacy, according to NBC News.

The news about a potential Ebola case in Washington came on the heels of the revelation that the first Ebola case had been diagnosed in the U.S. Thomas Eric Duncan, of Monrovia, Liberia, checked into a hospital several days after his arrival Sept. 20 in Dallas, but was initially sent home before being checked into Texas Health Presbyterian Hospital on Sunday. The CDC confirmed the diagnosis on Tuesday.

On Thursday, freelance NBC cameraman Ahoka Mukpo was diagnosed with Ebola in Monrovia, Liberia, and is being flown to the U.S. to receive treatment along with the rest of the news team.

The CDC reported Thursday that there have been 7,157 total Ebola cases recorded so far in the epicenters of Guinea, Sierra Leone and Liberia, with a death count of 3,330 patients. There have also been cases reported in Nigeria and Senegal in what has swiftly become the worst Ebola outbreak in world history.