A man who recently returned from Liberia showed up Sunday at a Braintree medial practice complaining of Ebola-like symptoms. The Boston Public Health Commission says the patient does not meet criteria to be considered someone at high risk for Ebola and it will continue to monitor the situation.

BRAINTREE – A registered nurse who is seven months pregnant, Denise DiMarzio was in the waiting room at Harvard Vanguard Medical Associates on Sunday afternoon when a staff member told her and the other patients to go into exam rooms because of an emergency.



DiMarzio, of Rockland, had no idea what was happening until her mother phoned in an update from outside the Grossman Drive facility: a man who recently returned from Liberia had showed up complaining of Ebola-like symptoms.



“I called her from the parking lot and said, ‘get out right now and don’t touch anything,’” Maureen DiMarzio of Weymouth said. “I’m terrified. She’s seven months pregnant and I’m petrified of the consequences. It could have been avoided.”



Said Denise DiMarzio: “It panicked me. There was a lot of confusion. The office was full. There were 15 people in the waiting room.”



Braintree police and firefighters, officials from the state Department of Public Health and a hazardous materials team from the state Department Fire Services on Sunday afternoon responded to 111 Grossman Drive, which was lined with police cruisers, fire trucks and ambulances.



Harvard Vanguard Medical Associates, an affiliate of Newton-based Atrius Health, is a multi-specialty group medical practice. The facility offers urgent care from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. Sundays.



Yellow police tape cordoned off the parking lot to the facility, and no vehicles were let in or out for several hours. Paramedics wore protective suits and masks over their mouths and noses while they quarantined the patient in an ambulance, which was later escorted by police to Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center in Boston. His SUV was towed from the scene, with an orange warning notice posting on the front windows. A second man wearing a face mask was taken away by ambulance, though paramedics were not wearing protective gear as they wheeled his stretcher out.



Ben Kruskal, chief of infectious disease at Harvard Vanguard Medical Associates, said in a statement that the patient, who has been to Liberia, came into the office complaining of a headache and muscle aches.



“Out of an abundance of caution we immediately notified authorities and the patient was securely removed from the building and put into an ambulance,” Kruskal said. “The building was closed briefly but has now reopened. We are working closely with the Department of Public Health, who will determine next steps.”



On Sunday night, the Boston Public Health Commission released a statement saying that after discussions with the Department of Public Health and Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center, the commission and its partners determined that the patient does not meet criteria to be considered someone at high risk for Ebola. The commission said it will continue to monitor the situation.



The rapid spread of Ebola in West Africa has killed more than 4,000 people so far this year, making it the worst outbreak of the virus in history. Public health experts say it would not spread easily in the U.S. because, unlike the common flu, it can only be transmitted through bodily fluids and can be contained with modern equipment and facilities.



Outside of two cases in Dallas – a West African man who died last week and a female nurse who provided care for him – the deadly virus has not been diagnosed anywhere in the U.S. The nurse is the first known case of Ebola being contracted or transmitted within the country.



Dr. Kenneth Sands, senior vice president of the department of health care and quality at Beth Israel Deaconess, said at a press conference Sunday that medical staff would assess the man’s symptoms and decide whether to test him for Ebola. He said getting the test results from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention would take up to 48 hours.



The state Department of Public Health has said it is “extremely unlikely” that a person infected with Ebola would ever appear in Massachusetts. One doctor already treated for the virus was isolated at a Worcester hospital last weekend after he came down with what turned out to be an upper respiratory infection.



Even before the first Ebola case in the U.S. was diagnosed, the Department of Public Health had spent several months working with doctors, hospitals and emergency workers to make sure the department would be ready if a case were to turn up, officials said.



Prior to Sunday’s incident, the legislative public health committee had scheduled an oversight hearing for Thursday to review response plans by the state should any cases be reported in Massachusetts. State Rep. Jeffrey Sanchez of Boston and Sen. John Keenan of Quincy co-chair the committee.



Denise and Maureen DiMarzio both expressed concern that the situation in the Braintree office could have been handled better by staff, who Maureen DiMarzio said continued to let people in and out of the clinic before officials arrived.



“Then they told us, ‘Go home and take a shower and take your temperature for 21 days,’” she said.



“They didn’t even let us wash our hands,” her daughter added. “I know it’s not airborne, but (the patient) was in the same waiting room as us.”



Denise DiMarzio said people who think they have Ebola need to use precaution instead of simply heading to the doctor without warning.



“You need to call the doctor before you even get out of the car so you don’t expose innocent people,” she said.



Said Braintree Mayor Joseph Sullivan in a statement: “Every precaution was taken in this case today. ... I am pleased that several Town of Braintree departments were able to respond and offer assistance to the DPH and CDC on this matter. We will continue to monitor the situation closely.”



Jessica Trufant may be reached at jtrufant@ledger.com.



