Why New York Doctor with Ebola Didn’t Quarantine Himself

Craig Spencer/LinkedIn(NEW YORK) — There’s a reason Dr. Craig Allen Spencer, who has tested positive for Ebola, didn’t quarantine himself when he returned to New York after treating Ebola patients in Guinea.

He didn’t have to.

According to Doctors Without Borders guidelines, doctors who have treated Ebola patients in West Africa are required to self-monitor for the 21-day incubation period, but they are not required to self-quarantine.

“Self-quarantine is neither warranted nor recommended when a person is not displaying Ebola-like symptoms,” the organization said Thursday in a statement. “However, returned staff members are discouraged from returning to work during the 21-day period.”

Spencer, 33, had been treating Ebola patients in Guinea with Doctors Without Borders until Oct. 12, New York City Department of Health Commissioner Dr. Mary Bassett said on Friday. Spencer left Guinea on Oct. 14 and arrived in New York’s John F. Kennedy International Airport on Oct. 17 following a stopover Brussels, Belgium.

Doctors Without Borders Guidelines requires doctors like Spencer to take their temperature twice a day and to stay within four hours of a hospital for the 21-day incubation period. They are also supposed to contact Doctors Without Borders if they develop any symptoms.

In the days before Spencer was diagnosed with Ebola, he traveled to Manhattan’s Highline Park and a popular restaurant called The Meatball Shop on Tuesday. The next day, he took a 3-mile run along Riverside Park and traveled on the subway to Brooklyn, where he went bowling. He was fatigued, but had no fever, officials said.

On Thursday morning, Spencer recorded a temperature of 100.3 and called Doctors Without Borders, who contacted New York authorities. Emergency responders arrived at his northern Manhattan apartment in full protective gear and took him to Bellevue Hospital, where he was placed in isolation and later diagnosed with Ebola, according to officials.

“Extremely strict procedures are in place for staff dispatched to Ebola affected countries before, during, and after their assignments,” said Sophie Delaunay, executive director of Doctors Without Borders. “Despite the strict protocols, risk cannot be completely eliminated. However, close post-assignment monitoring allows for early detection of cases and for swift isolation and medical management.”

Spencer’s fiancee was placed in quarantine, but she has shown no symptoms so far, officials said.

“Until today, out of more than 700 expatriate staff deployed so far to West Africa, no MSF [Doctors Without Borders] staff person has developed confirmed Ebola symptoms after returning to their home country,” Doctors Without Borders said in a statement.

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