Deplaning in Virginia delayed while Ebola scare checked

Passengers disembarking from a commercial flight in Richmond, Virginia, on Friday were delayed by about an hour while authorities ruled out Ebola as a cause of a fellow passenger's symptoms.

Crew members of American flight 2984 from Chicago contacted airport officials while the jet was still in flight to advise them that a teenage boy had a high fever and was experiencing abdominal pains, said Richmond International Airport spokesman Troy Bell.

The teen and accompanying family members had flown from Nigeria to London before going on to Chicago and Richmond, Bell said.

Nigeria is in western Africa but is not one of the countries overwhelmed by the Ebola epidemic. The majority of the more than 17,000 people sickened have been in Guinea, Liberia and Sierra Leone.

When the plane landed about 6:53 p.m., it was met by airport and county fire authorities wearing protective suits, Bell said. He said passengers were kept on the plane until Ebola was ruled out, and that the plane was on the ground for more than an hour.

The exact nature of the teen's illness was unclear. He was brought to a local hospital for treatment, Bell said.