The Ebola-stricken plane passenger who brought the virus to the United States alleges he was sent home after a brief check up in the Dallas emergency room last week, despite telling the nurse that he had just been in the Ebola-ravaged West African nation of Liberia.

Health authorities said the release of the patient by the Texas Health Presbyterian Hospital showed how easily a single infection can be missed. Reports said the man went back to the emergency room days later when his condition had worsened.

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After an Ebola diagnosis, federal health officials said they were tracking people who have had close contact with the patient who fell ill on September 24. These include a group of 12-18 people among which were three members of the ambulance crew and several schoolchildren.

Health authorities said they will monitor and check all the people the patient has had contact with every day for the last 21 days, the disease's incubation period.

Reports said the patient told the nurse that he had just been in Africa and was not feeling well. Reportedly, the nurse ignored the information and diagnosed the patient as having a low-risk infection before giving him antibiotics and sending him home.

The patient then left but returned to the hospital days later when his condition had worsened.

Dr. Mark Lester who work in the hospital said the information the nurse got from the patient has not been shared with the hospital authorities. Lester pointed out that the information was not "communicated" throughout the medical team.

The patient's sister, Mai Wureh,  said her brother was prescribed antibiotics and some abdominal pain medication. Wureh identified his brother as Thomas Eric Duncan.

Duncan continues to be in an isolation unit of the hospital since Sunday. He was listed in serious but stable condition. 

TagsPresbyterian Hospital, Dallas, Virus, outbreak, Texas