Ebola scare: Man on DTLA bus taken to hospital

LOS ANGELES (KABC) -- A 40-year-old man exhibiting flu-like symptoms and a fever caused an Ebola scare on a bus in downtown Los Angeles Friday afternoon.

The man, who traveled to Nigeria three weeks ago, tried to get on a bus at about 2:15 p.m. in the 700 block of North Vignes Street and reported feeling ill. Out of caution, the Los Angeles Fire Department transported him and six others to a nearby hospital.

"There was some coughing and that's what made a lot of people nervous," said David Ortiz, a spokesman for LAFD. "A lot of people insisted that he be transferred to the emergency room."

LAFD earlier said the man needed isolation based on protocols, but did not elaborate. LAFD notified allied agencies on the incident.

The Los Angeles County Department of Health said this was not a suspected or possible Ebola case and the man was not a risk.

"We did not test this individual, because this is clearly situation where he could not have Ebola. If the individual was not in Nigeria 50 days ago or longer, he's absolutely at no risk," said Dr. Jeffrey Gunzenhauser, interim health officer with the Los Angeles County Health Department.

While Nigeria has previously had a small number of cases of Ebola, the World Health Organization declared Monday the country was Ebola-free. The country has had no known Ebola cases for at least six weeks.