
A doctor who had been treating Ebola patients in Africa returned to his home in New York City on October 14, and by Thursday had become feverish and began exhibiting signs of Ebola. Dr. Craig Spencer was rushed to Bellevue Hospital from his apartment in Harlem, and has since tested positive for the deadly disease.
According to the New York Times, Spencer travelled by subway between Manhattan and Brooklyn on Wednesday evening, and had also visited a bowling alley.
Spencer is the first person in New York known to have contracted Ebola. He had been working with Doctors Without Borders in Guinea, where he was treating Ebola patients.
NYC health officials were looking for anyone that he may have come in to contact with since he began showing symptoms of Ebola. The disease is not believed to be contagious until a person becomes symptomatic, and is not easily spread through the air. Ebola is primarily spread through direct contact, which usually involves contact with the infected person's bodily fluids. The health department also issued a statement in which they said that chances of a NYC resident contracting the disease are "very slim".