Atlanta ( CNN ) -- A patient admitted to a New York City hospital with a high fever and gastrointestinal symptoms Monday is being tested for Ebola . He recently traveled to a country in West Africa where Ebola has been reported , Mount Sinai Hospital said in a statement . The patient was placed in strict isolation , and doctors are working to determine the cause of his symptoms . They expect to get test results back in a day or two . `` Odds are this is not Ebola . It 's much more likely that it 's a much more common condition , '' said Dr. Jeremy Boal , chief medical officer of the Mount Sinai Health System . CNN 's Dr. Sanjay Gupta agrees . About half a dozen people have recently returned from West Africa and gotten tested because of symptoms consistent with the disease . None of those cases has been confirmed as Ebola , Gupta said . Meanwhile , an American suffering from Ebola is expected to arrive in Atlanta on Tuesday from Liberia , where she contracted the deadly virus . Her plane departed early Tuesday morning , a source said . Missionary Nancy Writebol was set to travel aboard an air ambulance equipped with an isolation unit . It will land at Dobbins Air Reserve Base , and from there she 'll be rushed to Atlanta 's Emory University Hospital about 20 miles away . `` The reports from our medical doctors there on site caring for her is that she 's in a more weakened condition ; however , today has been a good day , '' said Bruce Johnson , president of SIM USA , where Writebol was working in Liberia . He told CNN 's `` Erin Burnett OutFront '' that her husband had told him Writebol 's appetite was returning and that she had asked for potato soup . `` We 're just grateful and very cautiously optimistic about how she 's doing right now , '' Johnson said . Writebol is one of two Americans stricken with the disease while aiding Ebola victims in the latest outbreak in West Africa . Ebola has killed more than 700 people in three nations : Guinea , Liberia and Sierra Leone . Their evacuation to Atlanta marks the first time anyone infected with the virus has been known to get treatment in the United States . Both patients will be treated at an isolation unit where precautions are in place to prevent it from spreading , unit supervisor Dr. Bruce Ribner said . The first American evacuee , Dr. Kent Brantly , was making progress since he arrived in Atlanta from Liberia on Saturday , a U.S. official said . `` It 's encouraging that he seems to be improving , '' Thomas Frieden , director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention , told CBS ' `` Face the Nation . '' `` That is really important , and we are hoping he will continue to improve . '' Brantly , 33 , is the first known patient with the deadly virus to be treated on U.S. soil . He landed at Dobbins and was quickly rushed to Atlanta 's Emory University Hospital . A prayer service was held for Brantly on Sunday night at the Southern Hills Church of Christ in Abilene , Texas . A family friend reportedly read a statement from his family . `` We can not share any news of Kent 's condition but please know that we believe Kent will be healed and that healing will come from the hand of God . To say thank you is SO inadequate for what we 're feeling ! We are humbled & simply , blown away by the response , '' it read , CNN affiliate KTXS reported . Ebola does n't spread through airborne or waterborne methods . It spreads through contact with organs and bodily fluids such as blood , saliva , urine and other secretions of infected people . There is no FDA-approved treatment for Ebola , and Emory will use what Ribner calls `` supportive care . '' That means carefully tracking a patient 's symptoms , vital signs and organ function ad taking measures , such as blood transfusions and dialysis , to keep patients stable . The Ebola virus causes viral hemorrhagic fever , which refers to a group of viruses that affect multiple organ systems in the body and are often accompanied by bleeding . Early symptoms include sudden onset of fever , weakness , muscle pain , headaches and a sore throat . They later progress to vomiting , diarrhea , impaired kidney and liver function -- and sometimes internal and external bleeding . Emory 's isolation unit aims to optimize care for those with highly infectious diseases and is one of four U.S. institutions capable of providing such treatment . American Ebola patient 'seems to be improving , ' CDC chief says . CNN 's Jason Carroll contributed to this report .
`` Odds are this is not Ebola , '' a hospital official in New York City says . Doctors expect to get test results back in a day or two . The patient recently traveled to a country in West Africa . Comment: