The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has just announced last Tuesday, September 30, 2014, that an unnamed patient in Dallas, Texas, is the first Ebola patient in the country.
While the United States has already treated Ebola patients, they were healthcare workers who became ill in West Africa. This then makes it the first time that a civilian was diagnosed and treated in the country.
According to reports provided by the Texas Health Presbyterian Hospital on Monday, the patient later identified as Thomas Eric Duncan came from Liberia prior to his arrival in the country on September 20, Saturday. According to sources, he is a Liberian citizen, and it is his first time to arrive in the country to visit family and friends.
The Ebola outbreak has already caused the deaths of over 3,000 people in Liberia alone with new reported cases as of September 30, 2014, according to CDC's tally. So far, neither the CDC nor the Dallas hospital where he's treated has released other data such as what he was doing in Liberia and how he contracted the disease, citing privacy protection.
As reported by CNN, Duncan became ill four days after his arrival but only sought treatment on September 26, two days after the first symptoms occurred. On September 28, he was put in strict isolation. Tom Frieden, CDC director, also confirms that the patient had interacted with some people and it's possible some of them may exhibit the symptoms soon.
He tries to assure the public, however, during the press conference that, contrary to the growing belief, the virus not airborne and that it's still transmitted through direct contact or exposure to the fluid or object that contains the Ebola virus.
The CDC also promises that they will do everything they can to stop its spread. A team will be traveling to Dallas to identify these individuals who may be exposed to the virus.
The Ebola virus hemorrhagic fever is a highly infectious disease, although the virus can remain incubated between 2 and 21 days before the first symptoms appear. Some of its signs include sudden fever, rash, sore throat, weakness, muscle pain, bleeding, and bloody diarrhea.
