Officials To CBS2: Woman's Body To Be Tested For Ebola Due To Recent Time In Guinea
NEW YORK (CBSNewYork) -- The body of a woman who died of an apparent heart attack in Brooklyn Tuesday will be tested for the Ebola virus as a precaution, since she was recently in the West African country of Guinea, city officials told CBS2.
The New York City Department of Health and Mental Hygiene told CBS2 the woman had come to the U.S. 18 days ago from Guinea -- one of three West African countries with ongoing Ebola transmission cases.
The woman died Tuesday afternoon at a hair salon at 32 Belmont Ave. in Brownsville, Brooklyn, the FDNY said. A 911 call for an unconscious person came in at 3:30 p.m., the FDNY said.
The woman had shown no signs or symptoms of Ebola, the Health Department said.
But due to her travel history within the 21-day possible incubation period for Ebola and an abundance of caution, an Ebola test will be performed on the woman's remains, the department said.
Police, fire crews, the Office of Emergency Management, the New York City Medical Examiner's office and the Health Department were all on the scene exercising caution hours later, the FDNY told CBS2.
Decontamination units were also on the scene to treat first responders, the FDNY said.
Dr. Craig Spencer is the only person New York City to have been stricken with a confirmed case of Ebola. He was successfully treated for Ebola the virus at Bellevue Hospital Center, and was released from the hospital last week.
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