Up to 100 people may have had direct or indirect contact with the first person to be diagnosed with the deadly Ebola virus in the United States, and four of his relatives have been quarantined in their homes as a precaution, health officials said yesterday.
Dallas County officials said 12 to 18 people had direct contact with the Texas patient, and they in turn had contact with scores of others. Officials said none of those thought to have had direct or indirect contact with the patient, who was being treated at a Dallas hospital, were showing symptoms of Ebola.
A top health official urged US hospitals to heed lessons from Dallas, where the hospital initially sent the ailing patient home, despite information that he had recently visited West Africa, potentially exposing more people to the virus.
Four close relatives could be arrested if they leave their homes
US officials initially described the number of people potentially exposed as a handful, and on Wednesday said it was up to 18. But yesterday, the Texas health department said there were about 100 potential contacts. However, Dallas County officials said more than 80 had contact with the patient. “We are working from a list of about 100 potential or possible contacts,” Texas health department spokeswoman Carrie Williams said.
“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.”
Texas health officials told four “close” relatives of the patient not to entertain visitors and said they could be arrested if they left their homes without permission through October 19. The four did not exhibit symptoms, they said.
Public health authorities have been calling on US healthcare workers to screen patients for signs of illness, and to question patients about their travel history in order to rule out Ebola for those who have been to West Africa.
“Unfortunately, that did not happen in this case,” said Dr Anthony Fauci, head of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases.
The Dallas patient, who had flown from Liberia, initially sought treatment at Texas Health Presbyterian Hospital on the night of September 25 but was sent home with antibiotics, despite telling a nurse he had recently arrived from West Africa. By Sunday, he needed an ambulance to return to hospital.
On Wednesday, hospital officials admitted that the man’s travel information had not been shared with other staff who were treating him.
The patient has not been named by the hospital for privacy reasons. However, Gee Melish, who said he was a family friend, identified the man as Thomas Eric Duncan.
The New York Times said Duncan, in his mid-40s, helped transport a pregnant woman suffering from Ebola to a hospital in Liberia, where she was turned away for lack of space. Duncan then brought her back to her family’s home and carried her into the house, where she later died, the newspaper reported.
The case has sparked concern nationwide over the potential for a wider spread of the virus from West Africa.