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CHICAGO (AP) — Two travelers from Liberia were taken to hospitals after arriving at O'Hare International Airport, including a child who will be tested for Ebola "out of an abundance of caution," in what health officials are calling an important first trial for Chicago's new Ebola response system.
Federal and health officials emphasized that there have been no confirmed Ebola cases in Chicago, and that there is no threat to the public. The situation unfolded during rush hour Tuesday evening, becoming a real-life drill for dozens of recently trained health care workers taking part in the city's newly activated Ebola network that includes airport screening, hospitals and government health officials.
"Our support team mobilized within minutes," said Dr. Omar Lateef, the medical director of the core team trained to treat Ebola patients at Rush University Medical Center.
The city released a statement Wednesday saying the child was improving, had a normal temperature and showed no symptoms of Ebola other than dehydration and one reported case of vomiting. The child also had no known exposure to Ebola.
Under guidelines set by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, those factors wouldn't prompt a test. But "as a result of the dehydration and out of an abundance of caution," doctors at the University of Chicago Medical Center decided to test the child for Ebola, the statement said. The child, who reportedly vomited while traveling Tuesday, was in isolation in stable condition Wednesday.
The adult was in good condition and removed from isolation at Rush after doctors decided the patient's mild symptoms were attributable to typhoid fever that had been diagnosed months earlier.
There is no plan to test the adult patient for Ebola. The adult, who was traveling alone, was admitted at Rush after reporting nausea and diarrhea, and the hospital's infectious disease experts consulted with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. The patient wasn't reporting those symptoms upon arrival the hospital Tuesday evening, said Dr. David Ansell, who works at Rush.
The hospital activated a newly built isolation unit and deployed a team in full personal protective gear. Two people checked each step as doctors and nurses put on protective suits, said Ansell, who watched the process.
"Let's call it a false alarm, but it was a great drill for the system," Ansell said. "I'm happy to report we've got a system ready to go."
Lateef said the biggest lesson was the need for additional communication to the entire hospital staff about safety. The core care team was confident in their own safety, but "people in the parking lot, getting a cup of coffee" were anxious, he said.
"The reality of the word 'Ebola,' it strikes fear into people," Lateef said. "We have to deal with that fear along with medical science of treating the disease."
Before the Chicago cases, Homeland Security said a total of 562 air travelers had been checked in screenings that started Oct. 11 at New York's Kennedy airport and expanded to O'Hare and other airports last week.
None of those travelers has tested positive for Ebola.
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Associated Press Medical Writer Lindsey Tanner contributed to this report from Chicago.
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