NYC Woman Who Died of Apparent Heart Attack Tests Negative for Ebola

Health officials say a hairdresser who died after returning from one of the Ebola-stricken nations in West Africa tested negative for the virus.

Emergency responders were called to a Brownsville hair salon Tuesday, where the woman suffered an apparent heart attack, according to a source familiar with the response. 

The woman had arrived in Brooklyn 18 days ago from West Africa, though officials would not specify which country. She showed no symptoms of Ebola, but because she traveled within the virus' 21-day incubation period, an Ebola was performed on her remains "out of an abundance of caution," the city health department said. 

Test results came back negative Wednesday.

The salon was also decontaminated out of extreme caution, officials said. 

The city announced last month it is actively monitoring hundreds of people who have recently returned from Ebola-stricken countries. Active monitoring means state or local health officials establish regular communication with the individuals, rather than relying on them to self-monitor and report potential symptoms.

As of Sunday, the city health department was actively monitoring 293 people, though officials have said the number fluctuates as travelers arrive and depart, and as 21-day incubation periods end for people already being monitored. 

Last week, Dr. Craig Spencer, the first and only person to be diagnosed with Ebola in New York City, was released from Bellevue Hospital as the mayor declared both him and the city free of the virus. 

A surgeon infected with Ebola in his native Sierra Leone arrived in the U.S. last weekend for treatment but died Monday at a hospital in Nebraska.

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