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Ebola patient told hospital of Liberia travel but was not initially admitted US Ebola patient told staff of Liberia travel but was allowed to leave hospital
(35 minutes later)
Health officials in Texas revealed on Wednesday that the first patient to be diagnosed with Ebola outside Africa told hospital staff on his first visit that he had recently travelled from Liberia, where the disease is prevalent, but was nevertheless sent home. The first patient to be diagnosed with Ebola outside Africa told medical staff that he had recently travelled from west Africa, but was not admitted to hospital until he returned two days later, health officials in Texas said on Wednesday.
An official at the Dallas hospital where he is being treated told a news conference that the patient told an emergency-room nurse about his travel history. But the information was not shared widely enough with the medical team treating him, and he was diagnosed as suffering from a “low-grade common viral disease”. Thomas Eric Duncan told a nurse at a Dallas emergency room that he had recently visited Liberia, which has been ravaged by the Ebola outbreak. But an executive at Texas Health Presbyterian hospital told a news conference that the information was not widely enough shared with the medical team treating Duncan, and he was diagnosed as suffering from a “low-grade common viral disease”.
The man, identified on Wednesday by his family as Thomas Eric Duncan, was sent home with a course of antibiotics, an outcome that the hospital described as a matter of “regret”. Duncan’s sister, Mai Wureh, told the Associated Press that he first visited the emergency room on Friday, but was sent home with a course of antibiotics – an outcome that hospital chiefs described as a matter of “regret”.
Ebola has so far killed more than 3,000 people in west Africa since the outbreak began in March, according to the World Health Organisation. Duncan travelled from Liberia to Texas on 19 September but did not begin to show symptoms of the disease until a few days after he arrived in the US.Ebola has so far killed more than 3,000 people in west Africa since the outbreak began in March, according to the World Health Organisation. Duncan travelled from Liberia to Texas on 19 September but did not begin to show symptoms of the disease until a few days after he arrived in the US.
Only patients who are sick with or have died from Ebola can transmit the disease, and it can only be spread through direct contact with blood or bodily fluids. Duncan began developing symptoms, which can include high fever, vomiting and diarrhea, on 24 September. Only patients who are sick with or have died from Ebola can transmit the disease, and it can only be spread through direct contact with blood or bodily fluids. Duncan began developing symptoms, which can include high fever, vomiting and diarrhea, on 24 September, and visited the Texas Health Presbyterian hospital two days later.
In an interview with the Associated Press, Duncan’s sister, Mai Wureh, confirmed that he was sent home from Texas Health Presbyterian hospital after his first visit on 26 September. Duncan returned two days later with more serious symptoms, when he was admitted. He was described as being in a serious but stable condition on Wednesday. Mark Lester, a senior executive at Texas Health Resources, which operates the hospital where Duncan is being treated, said medical staff used an Ebola checklist, which included a question about travel history. “That checklist was utilised by the nurse who did ask that question,” Lester said.
Mark Lester, a senior executive at Texas Health Resources, which operates the hospital where Duncan is being treated, said medical staff used an Ebola checklist on his first visit, which included a question about travel history. “That checklist was utilised by the nurse who did ask that question,” Lester said. The nurse was part of a “complex care team” in the emergency department, Lester said, adding: “Regretfully, that information was not fully communicated throughout the full team. As a result the full import of that question was not factored in to the clinical decision-making.”
The nurse was part of a “complex care team” in the emergency department, Lester said, adding: “Regretfully that information was not fully communicated throughout the full team. As a result the full import of that question was not factored in to the clinical decision-making.”
That failure led staff to conclude that Duncan’s symptoms were “not yet typical” for Ebola and concluded that he was suffering from a “low-grade common viral disease”.That failure led staff to conclude that Duncan’s symptoms were “not yet typical” for Ebola and concluded that he was suffering from a “low-grade common viral disease”.
Health officials have identified about 12 to 18 people who may have come into close contact with Duncan, five of whom are family members. None has yet shown any symptoms of Ebola. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), the federal public health agency, recommends healthcare facilities treat all patients showing symptoms of Ebola, who have recently been to an affected west African country, as “potential cases and obtain additional history”.
At the news conference, Texas governor Rick Perry said that school-age children may have been in contact with the patient. The children had been in school this week, but have now been restricted to their homes, where they are being monitored for signs of the disease. Duncan was admitted to hospital when he returned two days later. He was described as being in a serious but stable condition on Wednesday.
David Lakey, commissioner of the Texas department of state health services, attempted to reassure locals. “This is not west Africa. This is a very sophisticated city, a very sophisticated hospital and the dynamics are so significantly different than they are in west Africa that the chances of it being spread very, very, very small.” Officials said they are monitoring 12 to 18 people who may have come into contact with Duncan, including five school-age children and three members of the Dallas-Forth Worth ambulance crew that transported him to the hospital. The crew members tested negative for the disease but have been sent home as a precaution, city officials confirmed on Wednesday.
The Associated Press reported that three members of the ambulance crew that took Duncan to hospital have tested negative for Ebola but were being restricted to their homes while their conditions are observed. David Lakey, commissioner of the Texas department of state health services, attempted to allay public concern. “This is not west Africa. This is a very sophisticated city, a very sophisticated hospital and the dynamics are so significantly different than they are in west Africa that the chances of it being spread very, very, very small.”
Duncan was vomiting when the ambulance got to the hospital, Dallas city spokeswoman Sana Syed said. There was little panic among commuters at a bus stop across the street from the hospital. Billy Herman, 62, said that he was worried “to some degree, yes, but I have confidence in the CDC, that they have a standard process in place, [and] that they’re doing a traceback to see who he’s come in contact with.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), the federal public health agency, has sent a nine-member team to Texas to assist local and state officials. “If anyone develops fever, we’ll immediately isolate them to stop the chain of transmission,” said Tom Frieden, director of the CDC. “I am confident in the healthcare system in America and that if other individuals are infected, if they start having symptoms that we can control it and it won’t be mass death, fear and destruction like in those third world countries,” he said, adding that he would move away if sat close to someone with flu-like symptoms.
The CDC has sent a nine-member team to Texas to assist local and state officials. “If anyone develops fever, we’ll immediately isolate them to stop the chain of transmission,” said Tom Frieden, director of the CDC.
Duncan will continue receiving treatment at Texas Health Presbyterian Hospital of Dallas, even though it is not one of the four hospitals in the US equipped with biomedical isolation unit. Frieden said at the press conference that any hospital is capable of providing the proper care and control needed to treat and contain Ebola-stricken patients. The hospital has designated an entire ward for Duncan.
Meanwhile, a US doctor who was exposed to Ebola in Sierra Leone is under observation at the National Institutes of Health (NIH) clinical center in Bethesda, Maryland. He was transferred from overseas and admitted to the center on Sunday, where he was placed in a special unit designed to provide high-level isolation capabilities and is staffed by infectious diseases and critical care specialists, according to the NIH.
The doctor was working for an aid organisation in an Ebola treatment unit in Sierra Leone.