Ebola

The Texas Health Presbyterian Hospital in Dallas, Texas, Oct. 1, 2014, where a patient with the Ebola virus is being treated. This is the first case of Ebola diagnosed in the United States.

(Photo by Richard Rodriguez)

WOODBURY — Since the Ebola virus outbreak began in West Africa earlier this year, there have been many false alarms over possible cases in the United States, sparked by an apprehension over the disease that has only increased since the first U.S. diagnosis was confirmed in Dallas on Sept. 30.

Local rumors about national news stories are nothing new, and on Monday that rang true for some Woodbury residents. On the same day that Inspira Health Network posted an Ebola FAQ on its website, rumors hit Facebook and Twitter that doctors were now "confirmed" to be treating a patient with the disease at Inspira Medical Center Woodbury.

Those rumors are false, according to Inspira spokesman Paul Simon.

"We are not treating anyone with Ebola, nor are we treating anyone with suspected Ebola," said Simon, adding the same went for Inspira's other hospitals in Vineland and Elmer.

"Just like with all hospitals, we are following the guidelines set by the Center for Disease Control, and there are policies in place to detect Ebola here and to stop its spread," he added.

Earlier on Monday, public health officials in Delaware confirmed there is no Ebola case there, after reports surfaced that a Kent County child had been evaluated for the disease over the weekend, after she had recently traveled to West Africa.

In New Jersey, two false alarms were reported in the past two months — in Freehold in August, and Roselle in September. Both patients had traveled to West African countries in the weeks before falling ill.

According to the information posted on the Inspira Health Network website on Monday, Ebola can only be transmitted through direct contact with the blood or bodily fluids of an infected person who is already showing symptoms, or though exposure to objects, such as needles, contaminated with "infected secretions."

So, far there has only been one case in which an Ebola diagnosis was made in the U.S. — that of Thomas Eric Duncan, a Liberian national, who was confirmed to have the virus on Sept. 30 while visiting family in Dallas, Texas.

The CDC's latest information regarding Ebola can be read here: http://www.cdc.gov/vhf/ebola/index.html.

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Jason Laday may be reached at jladay@southjerseymedia.com. Follow him on Twitter @JasonLaday. Find the South Jersey Times on Facebook.