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Ebola patient in Dallas rues bringing virus to ‘love of my life’ Ebola patient in Dallas rues bringing virus to ‘love of my life’
(35 minutes later)
DALLAS — Ebola patient Thomas Eric Duncan told his fiancee the day he was diagnosed last week that he regrets exposing her to the deadly virus and had he known he was carrying Ebola, he would have “preferred to stay in Liberia and died than bring this to you,” a family friend said.DALLAS — Ebola patient Thomas Eric Duncan told his fiancee the day he was diagnosed last week that he regrets exposing her to the deadly virus and had he known he was carrying Ebola, he would have “preferred to stay in Liberia and died than bring this to you,” a family friend said.
“He apologized to Louise the day they told him what he had,” said Saymendy Lloyd, a close friend of Louise Troh, the fiancee of Duncan, who is in critical condition and no longer responsive. “He told her, ‘I’m so sorry all of this is happening. . . . I would not put the love of my life in danger.’ ”“He apologized to Louise the day they told him what he had,” said Saymendy Lloyd, a close friend of Louise Troh, the fiancee of Duncan, who is in critical condition and no longer responsive. “He told her, ‘I’m so sorry all of this is happening. . . . I would not put the love of my life in danger.’ ”
Family members gathered in Dallas and were able to see Duncan , from one floor below, on Monday via a laptop camera in his room at Texas Health Presbyterian Hospital. “He is not responsive at all. They said he was drugged and they put him in deep sleep,” said Lloyd, who was with the family. Family members gathered in Dallas and were able to see Duncan Monday via a laptop camera in his room at Texas Health Presbyterian Hospital. “He is not responsive at all. They said he was drugged and they put him in deep sleep,” said Lloyd, who was with the family.
She said the family members were saddened by the sight of Duncan.She said the family members were saddened by the sight of Duncan.
“The mother, this was the first time seeing her son since he got to the States. She has not seen him for 12 years, and the first time she saw him was through a monitor,” said Lloyd. “She was very, very emotional. She told him to be strong, that she is praying for him, that she loves him and God is able to do all things.” Duncan’s mother lives in North Carolina.“The mother, this was the first time seeing her son since he got to the States. She has not seen him for 12 years, and the first time she saw him was through a monitor,” said Lloyd. “She was very, very emotional. She told him to be strong, that she is praying for him, that she loves him and God is able to do all things.” Duncan’s mother lives in North Carolina.
newDuncan’s 19-year-old son, a Texas college student who has not seen his father since he was 3 years old in Liberia, also visited the hospital along with Troh on Tuesday night. Duncan’s 19-year-old son, a Texas college student who has not seen his father since he was 3 years old in Liberia, also visited the hospital along with Troh on Tuesday night.
Troh, who is in mandated isolation in Dallas with her 13-year-old son and two other people, spoke by phone to Lloydand told her about family? . Troh, who is in mandated isolation in Dallas with her 13-year-old son and two other people, spoke by phone to Lloyd.
As Duncan fights for his life, Texas health officials are bracing for a critical week in Dallas, where they are watching for any signs that as many as 48 people who had contact with Duncan may develop symptoms of Ebola. Health officials say the incubation period for the disease is 21 days, but it could appear eight to 10 days after exposure.As Duncan fights for his life, Texas health officials are bracing for a critical week in Dallas, where they are watching for any signs that as many as 48 people who had contact with Duncan may develop symptoms of Ebola. Health officials say the incubation period for the disease is 21 days, but it could appear eight to 10 days after exposure.
Duncan began showing symptoms Sept. 24, when he first sought medical treatment at Texas Presbyterian, three blocks from the home of Troh. Duncan was sent home, but was taken back to the hospital by ambulance Sept. 28. Two days later, on Sept. 30., a blood test confirmed he had Ebola. Health officials say the “10-day threshold” for the disease will fall within the next few days.Duncan began showing symptoms Sept. 24, when he first sought medical treatment at Texas Presbyterian, three blocks from the home of Troh. Duncan was sent home, but was taken back to the hospital by ambulance Sept. 28. Two days later, on Sept. 30., a blood test confirmed he had Ebola. Health officials say the “10-day threshold” for the disease will fall within the next few days.
“This is a critical week. We need to be prepared in Dallas for what could happen if family members become ill,” said David Lakey, commissioner of the Texas Department of Health Services. “We are doing contingency planning and praying for what if. I have been concentrating on what we need to do now to protect Dallas.”“This is a critical week. We need to be prepared in Dallas for what could happen if family members become ill,” said David Lakey, commissioner of the Texas Department of Health Services. “We are doing contingency planning and praying for what if. I have been concentrating on what we need to do now to protect Dallas.”
None of the 10 “high risk” people-- including four people who lived in the apartment where Duncan stayed and six health care workers--have developed symptoms, health officials said. Troh, who has been moved to an undisclosed location with the three people who were in the apartment with Duncan, is still well, family members say. On Sunday, members of the Liberian community association were able to take her traditional Liberian food including, jollof rice, foo foo, cassava leaves and plantains. “She called me, ‘I’m eating some traditional Liberian food,’” Lloyd said. “She was very happy about that.”None of the 10 “high risk” people-- including four people who lived in the apartment where Duncan stayed and six health care workers--have developed symptoms, health officials said. Troh, who has been moved to an undisclosed location with the three people who were in the apartment with Duncan, is still well, family members say. On Sunday, members of the Liberian community association were able to take her traditional Liberian food including, jollof rice, foo foo, cassava leaves and plantains. “She called me, ‘I’m eating some traditional Liberian food,’” Lloyd said. “She was very happy about that.”
Health officials say they are continuing to watch 38 other people who had “possible contact” with Duncan and were considered to be at lower risk. Twice a day, health officials are checking the temperature of the 48 people-- of whom six are in mandated isolation.Health officials say they are continuing to watch 38 other people who had “possible contact” with Duncan and were considered to be at lower risk. Twice a day, health officials are checking the temperature of the 48 people-- of whom six are in mandated isolation.
“They receive one call a day [to ask for a temperature reading] and one visit per day,” said Sana Sayed, a spokesperson for the city of Dallas. “A a health worker makes a physical contact with the 48 people being monitored every single day, seeing them and checking their temperature.”“They receive one call a day [to ask for a temperature reading] and one visit per day,” said Sana Sayed, a spokesperson for the city of Dallas. “A a health worker makes a physical contact with the 48 people being monitored every single day, seeing them and checking their temperature.”
The checks take place between 6 a.m. and midnight. “Some of the people are low risk and are free to go and come from their homes,” Sayed said. Lakey would not discuss why hospital protocols failed to detect Duncan the first time he visited Texas Health Presbyterian with a 101.1 fever, complaining of abdominal pains. The hospital’s decision to send him home put other people at risk.
If any of the people being monitored were to develop a fever, Sayed said, they would be isolated and transported to a hospital. “What happen if someone’s temperature goes up, the minute that happens they will be admitted to the hospital and placed in isolation,” Sayed said. Texas Health Commissioner Lakey said hospitals are practicing “good infection control” prepared to treat any patients who develop symptoms. Lakey would not discuss why hospital protocols failed to detect Duncan the first time he visited Texas Health Presbyterian with a 101.1 fever, complaining of abdominal pains. The hospital’s decision to send him home put other people at risk. The hospital announced initially that the failure to diagnosed Duncan occurred because of a software error in sending a nurse information that Duncan was zone with a high number of Ebola cases. “A lot of evaluations will take place to find out what happened on the first presentation to why wasn’t a diagnosis made,” Lakey said.
“A lot of evaluations will take place to find out what happened on the first presentation to why wasn’t a diagnosis made,” Lakey said. “We take preparedness very seriously in Texas and after any event we do an aftermath and an analysis and figure out what could have occurred that night to ensure that type of missed opportunity doesn’t happen again.” County Commissioner John Wiley Price criticized the hospital for failing to heed warnings sent in July about what protocols hospitals should follow to treat infectious diseases.
Lakey said he understood that people were frustrated by the mixed explanations released by the hospital. “We will need to look at that,” Lakey said. “The message I’ve been trying to tell hospitals--the travel history is really important. Before this, that seemed remote--occurring half way around the world. A lot of folks throughout the United States may not have taken that travel history seriously.” ....I’ve been telling hospitals across Texas is they really have to take that travel history seriously. if you have person presenting with fever adn has recently been to West Africa, Ebola is something to be considered.”County Commissioner John Wiley Price criticized the hospital for failing to heed warnings sent in July about what protocols hospitals should follow to treat infectious diseases.
“I said at the outset, Presbyterian is a boutique hospital next to a little Ellis Island,” Price said, referring to the neighborhood where many residents are immigrants and speak more than 40 languages. “If you don’t have insurance, you’re not going to get treated. That’s the elephant in the room.”“I said at the outset, Presbyterian is a boutique hospital next to a little Ellis Island,” Price said, referring to the neighborhood where many residents are immigrants and speak more than 40 languages. “If you don’t have insurance, you’re not going to get treated. That’s the elephant in the room.”
Price said he believed the hospital did not treat Duncan initially because he did not have insurance. “It’s clear to all of us what’s going on:. He was black and had no insurance. If he’d had insurance, they’d hae treated him differently.”
Texas Health Presbyterian hospital officials did not respond to requests for comment about the failure to diagnose Duncan on his first visit.
Texas Health Resources, the hospital network that includes Texas Health Presbyterian, responded to criticism Tuesday by saying, “He was treated the way any other patient would have been treated, regardless of nationality or ability to pay for care. We have a long history of treating a multi-cultural community in this area.”Texas Health Resources, the hospital network that includes Texas Health Presbyterian, responded to criticism Tuesday by saying, “He was treated the way any other patient would have been treated, regardless of nationality or ability to pay for care. We have a long history of treating a multi-cultural community in this area.”
Lloyd said when family members viewed Duncan through a monitor Monday, they were saddened.
“The mother, this was the first time seeing her son since he got to the states. She has not seen him for twelve years and the first time, she saw him was through a monitor,” said Lloyd. “She was very very emotional. She told him to be strong, that she is praying for him. That she loves him and God is able to do all things.” Duncan’s mother lives in North Carolina.
Lloyd who grew up in Liberia and is executive director of Women’s Wing Organization, a non profit based in Washington, said that Troh had heard that the Dallas County prosecutor is considering criminal charges against Duncan for exposing the public to a deadly virus.
“But at the moment, [the family is] not focused on a prosecution,” Lloyd said. “They are more focused on his health and wellness and praying he will be alright.”
Duncan’s fiancee, Troh, is worried about him. “ She is worried about herself and she is worried about her family,” Lloyd said.
Troh said that Duncan “is her first love.”
Duncan and Troh met in Liberia many years ago. They had one son and separated when Troh moved to the United States. “They went separate ways because of the distance,” Lloyd said. “Recently, they rekindled their relationship.”
This year, their son who attended high school in Texas requested that his father attend his high school graduation in June. “He got his visa and his passport and was making plans to come to the States,” Lloyd said. “But Louise had not gathered enough funds for his airplane ticket. She only recently gathered enough funds for the ticket. Instead of coming in June, he came in September.”
“They were going to get married,” Lloyd said. Her pastor “was supposed to start counseling and get the marriage on the way. This wonderful love story is ending in this way.”
President Obama said Monday that additional passenger screening for Ebola would take place in the United States and Africa, but he did not explain what this would entail. On Tuesday, the White House said new screening measures would be released in “the coming days.”
Thomas Frieden, director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, said that the agency was exploring ways to increase the screening of passengers on both sides of the Atlantic.Thomas Frieden, director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, said that the agency was exploring ways to increase the screening of passengers on both sides of the Atlantic.
“We’re working very intensively on the screening process,” Frieden said during a conference call with reporters Tuesday. “We’re looking at that entire process to see what more can be done.”“We’re working very intensively on the screening process,” Frieden said during a conference call with reporters Tuesday. “We’re looking at that entire process to see what more can be done.”
While he promised that “additional steps” were coming, Frieden did not elaborate on what that would include. Sen. Charles E. Schumer (D-N.Y.) said in an interview Tuesday that Frieden told him the plan is to have “tougher types of screening on U.S. soil.”While he promised that “additional steps” were coming, Frieden did not elaborate on what that would include. Sen. Charles E. Schumer (D-N.Y.) said in an interview Tuesday that Frieden told him the plan is to have “tougher types of screening on U.S. soil.”
However, as he has before, he cautioned that any measures were meant to mitigate, rather than eliminate, the danger posed by a traveler who may have Ebola.
“We recognize that whatever we do, until the disease is controlled in Africa, we can’t get the risk to zero here,” he said “We may be able to reduce it.”
Still, Frieden said the CDC has had teams on the ground working to strengthen the screening of passengers leaving West Africa. The screening has included taking temperatures, keeping an eye out for other symptoms and having travelers fill out questionnaires.Still, Frieden said the CDC has had teams on the ground working to strengthen the screening of passengers leaving West Africa. The screening has included taking temperatures, keeping an eye out for other symptoms and having travelers fill out questionnaires.
He said the CDC methods have been used to screen more than 36,000 people over two months. And of those travelers, a small portion of whom were coming to the United States, only 77 people had a fever or other symptoms that caused them to be taken out of line, he said. “As far as we know, none of those 77 people had Ebola,” Frieden noted.He said the CDC methods have been used to screen more than 36,000 people over two months. And of those travelers, a small portion of whom were coming to the United States, only 77 people had a fever or other symptoms that caused them to be taken out of line, he said. “As far as we know, none of those 77 people had Ebola,” Frieden noted.
Of course, these methods are not perfect, as was made clear when Thomas Duncan filled out a questionnaire, had his temperature taken by a person trained by the CDC and boarded multiple flights on his way to Dallas.Of course, these methods are not perfect, as was made clear when Thomas Duncan filled out a questionnaire, had his temperature taken by a person trained by the CDC and boarded multiple flights on his way to Dallas.
New measures are unlikely to fully keep out everyone with Ebola, as Frieden alluded to, owing to the realities of air travel and the disease itself. Because there are no direct flights from the three West African countries hit hardest by Ebola to the United States, a passenger could potentially travel through a number of highly-trafficked hubs as Duncan did when he went through Brussels, Dulles International Airport outside Washington, D.C., and Dallas-Fort Worth. This would make a complete travel ban -- which public health officials have repeatedly said is a bad idea -- very complicated, because of the number of connections and airports involved.
In addition, because it can take up to three weeks for Ebola symptoms to emerge, a person could travel and be in another area for some time before they start becoming feverish. In this case, thermometers and a visual inspection by customs agents at U.S. airports would not be able to detect the disease.
President Obama’s promise of stepped-up screening for Ebola at U.S. airports that handle international flights will fall on the shoulders of the Customs and Border Protection officers who greet passengers arriving from abroad.President Obama’s promise of stepped-up screening for Ebola at U.S. airports that handle international flights will fall on the shoulders of the Customs and Border Protection officers who greet passengers arriving from abroad.
Though they often seem preoccupied with scrutinizing passports and luggage, customs officers are trained to detect signs of illness, and they routinely do just that, officials said.Though they often seem preoccupied with scrutinizing passports and luggage, customs officers are trained to detect signs of illness, and they routinely do just that, officials said.
“CBP personnel review all travelers entering the United States for general overt signs of illnesses,” the agency said in a statement.“CBP personnel review all travelers entering the United States for general overt signs of illnesses,” the agency said in a statement.
In addition to visual observations, CBP officers question passengers about their health and are instructed to alert the CDC if a passenger appears to be seriously ill. If a person is believed to have “a possible communicable disease,” they are isolated while the CDC and local authorities conduct the evaluation.In addition to visual observations, CBP officers question passengers about their health and are instructed to alert the CDC if a passenger appears to be seriously ill. If a person is believed to have “a possible communicable disease,” they are isolated while the CDC and local authorities conduct the evaluation.
Federal law requires pilots to radio ahead if a passenger dies or falls ill with certain symptoms.Federal law requires pilots to radio ahead if a passenger dies or falls ill with certain symptoms.
“If somebody comes in on a flight that has a fever or any one of those triggers, CDC can insert themselves at any point in the process,” said Rob Yingling, spokesman for the Metropolitan Washington Airports Authority, which runs Dulles and Reagan National airports. “They can say [to the pilot], ‘Tell us more about this case,’ or they can actually physically go to the plane.”“If somebody comes in on a flight that has a fever or any one of those triggers, CDC can insert themselves at any point in the process,” said Rob Yingling, spokesman for the Metropolitan Washington Airports Authority, which runs Dulles and Reagan National airports. “They can say [to the pilot], ‘Tell us more about this case,’ or they can actually physically go to the plane.”
The CDC maintains an office at Dulles and other major airports that handle international flights.The CDC maintains an office at Dulles and other major airports that handle international flights.
Meanwhile, up to 4,000 service members are expected to head to West African countries ravaged by the Ebola epidemic. They will be monitored several times a day and, if any of them contract Ebola, they will be flown back to the United States board a specially designed plane for treatment.Meanwhile, up to 4,000 service members are expected to head to West African countries ravaged by the Ebola epidemic. They will be monitored several times a day and, if any of them contract Ebola, they will be flown back to the United States board a specially designed plane for treatment.
Among the tasks laid out for the military is the construction of 17 treatment centers for people with the disease. This will take until the middle of next month, according to Gen. David Rodriguez, chief of U.S. Africa Command.Among the tasks laid out for the military is the construction of 17 treatment centers for people with the disease. This will take until the middle of next month, according to Gen. David Rodriguez, chief of U.S. Africa Command.
Mark Berman, Ashley Halsey III, Dan Lamonthe and Amy Ellis Nutt contributed to this report from Washington.Mark Berman, Ashley Halsey III, Dan Lamonthe and Amy Ellis Nutt contributed to this report from Washington.
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