A New York hospital is testing a man for ebola after he turned up at the emergency department showing symptoms of the virus.
The man - who turned up at New York's Mount Sinai Hospital - was put in isolation after displaying fever and gastrointestinal problems.
He had travelled to one of the West African countries where ebola has been reported, said hospital president David Reich.
However, Mr Reich said the move was precautionary, adding: "It's much more likely it's a much more common condition.
"But using an abundance of caution, we're going to work carefully with the CDC to make certain this person does not have the ebola virus."
The patient was "promptly isolated and placed in a strict isolation facility", said the hospital boss.
The test is being done by the Centers for Disease Control in Atlanta and is expected to take two to three days.
Hospitals and airports around the world are on alert for anyone showing signs of the incurable virus that has now killed 887 people in West Africa.
A woman - who later died - tested negative for ebola after arriving at London's Gatwick Airport at the weekend.
Symptoms of the virus include fever, vomiting, severe headaches, muscular pain and, as the patient nears the end, profuse bleeding.
It is spread by contact with blood or other bodily fluids and is not passed on through the air.
Meanwhile, infected aid worker Nancy Writebol, 60, is due back in the US today and will be taken to the same specialist Atlanta hospital treating her colleague, Dr Kent Brantly.
The pair became infected while working in Liberia.
Dr Brantly is said to be improving, while Ms Writebol is reported to be in a serious but stable condition as she flies in from West Africa.
It is thought the two workers are being treated with an experimental drug called ZMapp, which has never been tested on humans before.
The drug was only identified as a possible treatment in January after research by the US government and the military.
It works by boosting the immune system and is made from antibodies produced by lab animals exposed to parts of the virus.
Its maker, San Diego's Mapp Biopharmaceutical, said it was "co-operating with appropriate government agencies to increase production as quickly as possible".
The US Food and Drug Administration, however, said it could not confirm or deny the drug was being used on home soil.
On Monday, the World Bank approved $260m in emergency loans to Liberia, Sierra Leone and Guinea to boost efforts to fight the outbreak.
World Health Organisation chief Margaret Chan said the virus is gathering pace and warned of "catastrophic" consequences if the situation continues to deteriorate.
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