http://www.patriotledger.com/article/20141012/NEWS/141018944By The Patriot Ledger
Posted Oct. 12, 2014 @ 3:00 pm
Updated at 5:04 PM
BRAINTREE – A man with Ebola-like symptoms is being taken by ambulance to Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center in Boston.
Benjamin Kruskal, chief of infectious disease for Harvard Vanguard, said a patient complaining of a headache and muscle aches went to Harvard Vanguard Medical Associates, 11 Grossman Drive, on Sunday afternoon.
"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 in a written statement.
Kruskal said the patient recently traveled to Liberia in West Africa.
The ambulance was escorted by police to Beth Israel. The driver of the ambulance was wearing a mask and haz mat suit.
When asked about the Braintree incident, the state's Department of Public Health spokeswoman Anne Roach said, "There are no cases of Ebola in Massachusetts. DPH has worked with hospitals over the past several months with possible cases of Ebola and they have all been quickly ruled out."
Roach did not say if the Braintree case has been ruled out as Ebola.
Kruskal said the office was temporarily closed, but is now re-opened.
The Braintree police and fire departments, Department of Public Health and a haz mat team responded to the Braintree office.
Symptoms of Ebola include a fever greater than 101.5 degrees and a severe headache, muscle pain, vomiting, diarrhea, unexplained bleeding or abdominal pain.
"We are working closely with the Department of Public Health who will determine the next steps," Kruskal said.
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.
