--- title: U.S. Citizen Tested for Ebola in Ghana description: U.S. Embassy is working to confirm case of deadly virus canonical: https://time.com/2963017/u-s-citizen-ebola-ghana/ author: Alexandra Sifferlin article:opinion: false article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2014-07-07T16:27:26.000Z article:modified_time: 2026-10-01T08:57:44.468Z article:section: Health og:title: U.S. Citizen is Being Tested for Ebola in Ghana og:description: U.S. Embassy is working to confirm case of deadly virus og:url: https://time.com/2963017/u-s-citizen-ebola-ghana/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltba04be12159af1f4/698686df36176003c390b122/169362573.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 og:image:width: 1651 og:image:height: 929 og:image:alt: 169362573 og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: U.S. Citizen is Being Tested for Ebola in Ghana twitter:description: U.S. Embassy is working to confirm case of deadly virus twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltba04be12159af1f4/698686df36176003c390b122/169362573.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  # Report: U.S. Citizen Tested for Ebola in Ghana > Sponsored content. 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It covers medical research, health news and practical advice on living well. #### Where can I get reliable health news by email? Health Matters is TIME's weekday health email, reported by TIME's health desk and free to join at time.com/newsletters. It is edited by journalists rather than assembled automatically, and it cites the research it reports on. #### Is Health Matters free? Yes. Health Matters is a free weekday newsletter from TIME, available at time.com/newsletters. #### Who reads TIME's Health Matters newsletter? Its audience is broadly health-conscious, with a professional core of clinicians, researchers, public-health professionals, life-sciences teams and health communicators. ### Sources * TIME Newsletters: [time.com/newsletters](/c/time-nl-health-2026q3/newsletters?i=dc41d7bc-6457-469b-a039-f0d40a823361&cr=time-nl-health-2026q3-v1) ## Video: History's Worst Ebola Outbreak [Watch (HLS stream): History's Worst Ebola Outbreak](https://cdn.jwplayer.com/manifests/4t4OY2Yt.m3u8) (2:41)  _Published 2014-06-27. History's Worst Ebola Outbreak_ by [Alexandra Sifferlin](https://time.com/author/alexandra-sifferlin/) ## Alexandra Sifferlin Jul 7, 2014 4:27 PM UTC by [Alexandra Sifferlin](https://time.com/author/alexandra-sifferlin/) ## Alexandra Sifferlin Jul 7, 2014 4:27 PM UTC A U.S. citizen who traveled in regions of West Africa in the grip of an ebola virus outbreak is being tested for the disease in Ghana. “He is an American and records showed that he had been to Guinea and Sierra Leone in the past few weeks,” a senior health ministry official [told Reuters in an interview](http://www.reuters.com/article/2014/07/07/us-health-ebola-ghana-idUSKBN0FC0ZF20140707?utm%5Fsource=twitter). The patient is reportedly quarantined in a clinic in the capital Accra and test results, which should be available later on Monday, are being examined at the Noguchi Memorial Institute of Medical Research. According to Reuters, the U.S. embassy in Ghana has been informed of the case and is working to confirm it. The ebola outbreak, which started in Guinea, has been [declared](http://time.com/2913079/doctors-without-borders-ebola/) “out of control” by the health group Doctors Without Borders, which is treating patients in Western Africa. Ebola causes fevers, vomiting, diarrhea and death, and has spread from Guinea to Sierra Leone and Liberia. \[[_Reuters_](http://www.reuters.com/article/2014/07/07/us-health-ebola-ghana-idUSKBN0FC0ZF20140707?utm%5Fsource=twitter)\] ## Transcript Well, part of the reason this has become the, the deadliest now, Ebola outbreak, certainly the most widespread is that the, the challenges of, of trying to take care of patients in so many different areas. When you think about Ebola in the past, it's typically isolated to one remote sort of village or town, but now it has spread into a city of 2 million people which is the capital of Guinea known as Conakry. This is a city that has an international airport and that has raised some concerns as well. But there's no question that these numbers have been steadily growing and it's become increasingly challenging to care for these patients. Now keep in mind we talk about Ebola. We're talking about a pathogen that is not particularly contagious. Doesn't spread easily from person to person, but it is highly infectious, meaning only a small amount can make somebody sick. Even a droplet of something can make somebody sick. So when people are, are spreading this disease, it's usually to healthcare workers for example. People who are caring for these patients, getting even a miniscule amount of droplets on them, could potentially make them ill. That is also part of the reason there is a lack of resources now. Look at the objectives in terms of protecting these healthcare workers. They gotta dress up in these suits to literally cover every square inch of their body to try and keep them protected. It's very labor intensive. It is hot, over 100 degrees out there and it is difficult to, you have to, people have to continuously be replaced because it's very hard to keep doing this job day after day, and that's part of the reason there has been a tremendous drain on resources. It's also worth reminding that the death rate for this particular Ebola outbreak while very high, has been lower than in previous situations, and in part I think that's because they are identifying patients with Ebola more quickly and because they do have some of the resources of this big city of Conakry, Guinea. The downside is that you have patients with Ebola who are now in a city with an international airport. The incubation period, or the time that it takes for someone to get sick is anywhere up to 21 days. So someone, could someone get exposed, get on airplane, fly around the world? That is possible, there's no question that could possibly happen, and many people predict that it will happen. That's the bad news. The potentially good new in all of this, is that before someone starts to spread this disease from person to person, they're often very sick themselves. They are down in bed. They are down for the count. They are not going to be up walking around an airport. So that is why family members and healthcare workers are typical the ones most likely to become infected. But again the numbers are high, now the highest in terms of Ebola outbreaks and this is the most widespread including a city of 2 million people. 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