Mount Sinai Email to Staff Re: Patient with Febrile Illness

From: Broadcast Notifications <BroadcastNotifications@mountsinai.org>
Date: August 4, 2014 at 1:45:53 PM EDT
To: Undisclosed recipients:;
Subject: Patient with Febrile Illness and Recent Travel to West Africa
TO:                 All Faculty, Staff and Students

FROM:           Kenneth L. Davis, MD
Chief Executive Officer and President
Mount Sinai Health System

Dennis S. Charney, MD
Anne and Joel Ehrenkranz Dean
Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai
President for Academic Affairs
Mount Sinai Health System

DATE:            August 4, 2014

RE:                 Patient with Febrile Illness and Recent Travel to West Africa

A patient with high fever and gastrointestinal symptoms, after recent travel to a West African country where Ebola Virus Disease (EVD) has been reported, presented to the Emergency Department at The Mount Sinai Hospital last night. The patient has been placed in strict isolation, and is currently undergoing medical screenings to determine the cause of the symptoms. All necessary steps are being taken to ensure the safety of all patients, visitors and staff.

The Incident Command Centers of The Mount Sinai Hospital and the Mount Sinai Health System have been activated and are working together in a unified fashion. The Mount Sinai Health System has been activated to a (HICS) Level 1 Alert. The Mount Sinai Hospital has been activated to (HICS) Level 2.

The Department of Emergency Management and the Division of Infectious Diseases at The Mount Sinai Hospital are employing all necessary infection control measures to protect patients and staff and to continue to provide the best care to our patients.  It is important to note that EVD can only be transmitted through direct contact with bodily fluids. The infection cannot be transmitted through casual contact.

General Information Regarding EVD:

·         As of August 1, 2014, approximately 1,300 cases (suspected and confirmed) had been reported in the West African countries of Guinea, Liberia, and Sierra Leone.
·         EVD is a severe, often fatal disease (case fatality is 55 to 60%).
·         Along with direct contact with bodily fluids, including infected blood, urine, sweat, semen and breast milk, exposure to objects (e.g., needles, sharps) contaminated with infected bodily fluids can spread the infection.
·         Patients with EVD are potentially infectious from onset of fever until weeks or months after recovery.
·         Ebola symptoms can appear from 2 to 21 days after exposure to the virus, with 8 to 10 days being the most common. Symptoms typically include fever, headache, muscle and joint pain (myalgias/arthralgias), weakness, diarrhea, vomiting, and abdominal pain.
·         Hemorrhagic symptoms include broken blood vessels in the eyes (conjunctival hemorrhage), easy bruising, and GI bleeding.

Reporting:

·         Contact the Infectious Disease Attending on call or Infection Control for further guidance.
·         Immediately report all suspected cases of EVD to the New York City Department of Health and Mental Hygiene (DOH) at 866-692-3641.

For additional, accurate information, please visit the CDC’s webpage: http://www.cdc.gov/vhf/ebola.

We will continue to keep you updated.