Pentagon Closes Off An Entrance in Ebola Scare: Officials

Washington: The Pentagon on Friday closed off a parking lot and one entrance as a precaution after a woman, who recently returned from Africa, vomited outside the building, prompting fears of Ebola.

Pentagon police officers at 9:10 am local time (1310 GMT) spotted a woman in a parking lot "who was ill and vomiting," the Defense Department said in a statement.

"During the response, the individual indicated that she had recently visited Africa," it said.

"Out of an abundance of caution, all pedestrian and vehicular traffic was suspended around the South Parking lot," and one entrance to the sprawling office building was also closed, it said.

An Arlington County Fire Department team responded quickly and within less than an hour the woman was taken to a local hospital in northern Virginia outside the US capital, it said.

It was not clear what country the woman had visited in Africa, officials said.

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A US defense official, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said the woman was on a shuttle bus that was heading to a ceremony at the US Marine Corps barracks attended by top brass and Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel.

The event marked a change of command for the head of the Marine Corps.

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Following the incident, the passengers on the shuttle bus have been kept isolated, officials said.

The woman was believed to be an employee for a contractor that performs work for the Pentagon, the official said.

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There was no confirmation that the woman was infected with Ebola, but the incident underscored mounting anxiety over the deadly virus, which has killed nearly 4,500 people in West Africa.

A Liberian man died from the disease in Texas on October 8, and two American nurses who treated him have also tested positive for the disease.