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04/27/2024 12:40:06 am

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Thomas Eric Duncan, First Ebola Patient In U.S. Vomited Outside of Apartment

Director Tom Frieden of Center for Disease Control and Prevention

(Photo : REUTERS) Director Tom Frieden of Center for Disease Control and Prevention released a statemetn on Tuesday regarding the first case of Ebola in the United States.

Thomas Eric Duncan, the first person diagnosed with the Ebola virus in the U.S., vomited outside his apartment before getting rushed to the hospital and admitted to the Texas Health Presbyterian Hospital on Sunday.

According Mesud Osmanovic, 21, a manual laborer who lives in the same neighborhood where Duncan was staying, the entire family of the patient was screaming when he vomited all over the place last Wednesday.

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The hospital tried to keep Duncan's identity in secret for privacy purposes, but Gee Melish, a family friend identified Duncan as the patient.

Duncan, 42, is a Liberian citizen who allegedly helped carry a pregnant woman who contracted the Ebola virus, the New York Times reported. The woman was denied admission because the hospital was already full of patients.

Duncan helped the woman back to her home who died hours after. According to the pregnant woman's parents and neighbors, Duncan flew to the U.S. four days after the tragic incident.

Duncan arrived in Texas on Sept. 20 and has only sought treatment after six days, but was only given antibiotics and was sent home last Thursday.

Reports said the hospital's staff did not observe Duncan, despite his admission that he flew from West Africa, where more than 3,300 people have died from the Ebola virus.

Mark Lester, a Texas official clarified why Duncan was sent back home and said the patient did not communicate well with the hospital's team that he traveled from the affected region.

Other health officials said that the people who live within Duncan's proximity may have already been exposed to the virus. So far, those who were assisting the patient were tested and were cleared of the virus.

Dr. Christopher Perkins, Director of the Dallas County Health and Human Services Medical, added that Duncan might have had close contact with more than 18 people, five children included, upon arriving in the U.S. The children were able to attend school this week, but were then sent home after the news broke and are being closely monitored.

The children do not have any symptoms of the virus so far and the chances of them getting infected by it is low, Perkins assured. Mike Miles, the Superintendent of Dallas Independent School District, also said that the schools the children have attended will be staffed with health professionals to help monitor if other students show any symptoms.

The Centers for Disease and Control assured that the United States' healthcare system is well-prepared for the disease.

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