(Newswire.net — October 2, 2014) — Edward Goodman, an infectious disease specialist at Texas Health Presbyterian hospital, said the patient “was evaluated for his illness, which was very nondescript.”
“He had some laboratory tests, which were not very impressive, and he was dismissed with some antibiotics,” Goodman said.
According to AP the man’s sister told that the man had relayed to doctors that he came from Liberia.
The infected passenger is believed to have taken UA Flight 951 from Brussels to Dulles, and UA Flight 822 from Dulles to Dallas Fort Worth on September 20 United Airlines said Wednesday.
However, The CDC said there was “zero risk of transmission” on any flight on which the patient flew because he was not symptomatic until several days after his trip, as reported by CNN.
Officials are hoping to locate anyone the patient has been in contact since he arrived from Liberia, and to monitor them for symptoms over the next 21 days to see if they develop a fever. If they do, their contacts will also be identified and monitored.
US officials, however, will likely be questioned as to how the patient was not immediately isolated
visiting the hospital on Friday, but released with antibiotic treatment.
“It is certainly possible that someone who had contact with this individual … could develop Ebola in
the coming weeks,” said CDC.
Symptoms can include high fever , muscle pain, diarrhea, vomiting, and both internal and external bleeding.
The president Obama has been updated on the latest in the case, the White House reported .
“The president and CDC Director Frieden discussed the stringent isolation protocols under which the
patient is being treated, as well as ongoing efforts to trace the patient’s contacts to mitigate the
risk of additional cases,” a White House spokesman said.
The patient is the fifth to receive care to fight Ebola in the United States. In August, both Nancy
Writebol and Kevin Brantley were treated at Emory University hospital in Atlanta. Both ultimately recovered and were discharged.
Dr. Rick Sacra, an aid worker who contracted Ebola in Monrovia, was released from a Nebraska medical
center last week.
A fourth patient, believed to be a World Health Organization doctor who was treating patients in Sierra Leone, is receiving treatment at Emory.
A fifth American, who had American-Liberian citizenship, died in Monrovia in July.
According to statistics released by the CDC in conjunction with the World Health Organization, the
virus has infected 6,574 people in West Africa, 3,091 of whom have died.
On Friday, the WHO warned that the figures “vastly underestimate the true scale of the epidemic.”
Last week, the CDC warned that Ebola infections in West Africa could hit 1.4 million by the end of
January if current trends continue and no immediate, large-scale increase in response measures is
taken.