Ebola Virus Continues to Spread

Thomas Duncan walked into the ER of Texas Health Presbyterian Hospital with flu-like symptoms last Wednesday, and walked away that day with antibiotics, despite telling a nurse that he had just visited the West African country of Liberia. 

The following Sunday, September 28th, Duncan was admitted to the hospital to receive treatment for Ebola. 

Ebola is a viral disease that’s not contagious until symptoms appear in a patient. It can only be spread by close contact with bodily fluids of an infected person. 

The Texas Department of State Health Services legally ordered Duncan’s family members to stay inside their home and continue to be monitored by public health officials for symptoms of Ebola until October 19th. According to the Texas law, if they attempt to leave their home, they could face criminal charges. 

The Texas DSHS is investigating who else Duncan may have come into contact with and determining if any of the contacts may have contracted Ebola.

Here is a map showing where the most recent Ebola cases have been confirmed:

“Out of an abundance of caution, we're starting with this very wide net, including people who have had even brief encounters with the patient or the patient's home. The number will drop as we focus in on those whose contact may represent a potential risk of infection”, said DSHS spokeswoman Carrie Williams.

Kelly Hanes of Tarrant County Public Health in Texas said in a telephone interview with ATVN that Dallas/Forthworth International Airport is not taking any extra precautionary measures for international flyers from West African countries.

The Liberia Airport Authority has checkpoints throughout the airport to screen passengers for potential symptoms and prevent the spread of Ebola. Duncan claims he had not come into contact with the disease, but Tugbeh Chieh Tugbeh, a leader in the Liberian community where Duncan was, told CNN that Duncan had been helping a woman who had Ebola. 

Binyah Kesselly, the chairman of the board of the Liberia Airport Authority, has announced the country will seek legal action against Duncan for leaving the country knowing that he may have had been in contact with the disease, according the the Associated Press.

A spokesman for the American College of Emergency Physicians, Dr. Rade Vukmir, said, “The scrutiny just needs to be higher now.”