EBOLA PATIENT THOMAS DUNCAN DIES AT DALLAS HOSPITAL
- Details
- Category: World News
- Published on Wednesday, 08 October 2014 13:00
- Written by Janet Walker
Thomas Eric Duncan, the first diagnosed case of Ebola Haemorrhagic Fever, has died in a Dallas hospital less than two weeks after arriving in the United States from Liberia, the West African nation engulfed in a pandemic.
Duncan, U.S. Case 1, boarded a flight from Liberia, in late September, after lying on a honor code pre-flight medical questionnaire and by September 30, 2014 he was diagnosed with Ebola. Living longer than most as Ebola patients have a 90% mortality rate, in part due to the world class care he received and available in the United States the disease is still an unknown and no vaccine is available.
Texas Health Presbyterian Hospital Dallas announced the death time as 7:51am.
CDC officials are deciding what should be done with the body. Mishandling of Ebola patients in West Africa has also resulted in exposure.
Approximately 48 persons having contact with Duncan, of the 100 trace cases, have been determined to be high risk. No additional information is available. Mathematically, the worst case scenario, of the 48 high risk cases, each could infect 48 multiplying as the circle widens.
Separately, President Obama has refused to close the borders concluding initiating this safety precaution will send the wrong message and greater on ground monitoring and pre-flight medical checks are the elements necessary to keep Americans safe from the spread of this pandemic.
Other countries, approximately six weeks ago, stopped inbound and out bound flights to all countries determined to be high risk nations. Officials believe the American public is not at risk.
This is a developing story.
