Ebola in US: Who Else Was Infected?

Anyone who came into contact with Dallas Ebola patient Thomas Eric Duncan should be concerned, according to Dr. Bill Miller. “The moment they begin to feel ill, they should seek care and be prepared to be quarantined.”
Ebola in US: Who Else Was Infected?
Families walk by a law enforcement vehicle near the main entrance to The Ivy Apartments as children return from school, Wednesday, Oct. 1, 2014, in Dallas. The man diagnosed with having the Ebola virus was staying at the complex with family and is now hospitalized. AP Photo/Tony Gutierrez
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The first Ebola patient diagnosed in the U.S. initially went to a Dallas emergency room last week but was sent home, despite telling a nurse that he had been in disease-ravaged West Africa, the hospital acknowledged Wednesday.

The decision by Texas Health Presbyterian Hospital to release him could have put many others at risk of exposure to the disease before he went back to the ER two days later, after his condition worsened.

Thomas Eric Duncan explained to a nurse Friday that he was visiting the U.S. from Liberia, but that information was not widely shared, said Dr. Mark Lester, who works for the hospital’s parent company.

Instead, the patient was sent home with antibiotics, according to his sister, Mai Wureh, who identified her brother as the infected man. Antibiotics, which target bacteria, are generally ineffective against Ebola, which is caused by a virus.

A day after the man’s diagnosis was confirmed, a nine-member team of federal health officials was tracking anyone who had close contact with him.

The team from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention was in Dallas to work with local and state health agencies to ensure that those people are watched every day for 21 days.

Transferable Before Symptoms Show

Anyone who came into contact with Dallas Ebola patient Duncan should be concerned, according to Dr. Bill Miller, who is a physician for over 30 years.

“The moment they begin to feel ill, they should seek care and be prepared to be quarantined.” Miller said he is horrified that America is allowing travel from the hot zone in Western Africa, and at the miscommunication inside the hospital.

Texas Governor Rick Perry said in a Wednesday press conference, “The disease cannot be transmitted before having symptoms,” and that Texas is well prepared to handle it, because it is one of only 13 states certified by the CDC to do diagnostics for Ebola. 

While it’s accurate that a person is not able to transmit Ebola before symptoms begin, there is a caveat. It’s more of a sliding scale than an on-off switch. A person is beginning to fall ill, and the viral load is increasing inside his body. Somewhere between day two and day 20, the person becomes able to transmit an illness.

A vehicle drives up the driveway to the Texas Health Presbyterian Hospital in Dallas, Tuesday, Sept. 30, 2014. A patient in the hospital is being teated for Ebola. (AP Photo/LM Otero)
A vehicle drives up the driveway to the Texas Health Presbyterian Hospital in Dallas, Tuesday, Sept. 30, 2014. A patient in the hospital is being teated for Ebola. AP Photo/LM Otero
Mary Silver
Mary Silver
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Mary Silver writes columns, grows herbs, hikes, and admires the sky. She likes critters, and thinks the best part of being a journalist is learning new stuff all the time. She has a Masters from Emory University, serves on the board of the Georgia chapter of the Society of Professional Journalists, and belongs to the Association of Health Care Journalists.
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