A MAN who flew from Liberia to Texas has become the first patient infected with the deadly Ebola virus to be diagnosed in the US‚ health officials said on Tuesday‚ a sign the outbreak ravaging West Africa may spread globally.The patient sought treatment six days after arriving in Texas on September 20‚ Dr Thomas Frieden‚ director of the US Centres for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC)‚ told reporters. He was admitted two days later to an isolation room at Texas Health Presbyterian Hospital in Dallas.
More than 6500 cases have been diagnosed‚ and the CDC has warned that the number of infections could rise to as many as 1.4-million people by early next year without a massive global intervention to contain the virus.
US hospitals have treated‚ and released‚ three aid workers who were infected in Africa and flown back to the US under strict medical supervision in a specially outfitted airplane.
A fourth person is being treated at Emory University Hospital in Atlanta‚ Georgia and a fifth person who may have been exposed to the virus is under observation at the National Institutes of Health in Bethesda‚ Maryland.
President Barack Obama discussed the Dallas case with Frieden on Tuesday‚ the White House said.
The Ebola outbreak has overwhelmed health systems in Africa prompting the US government and other nations to send funds‚ supplies and personnel to stop its spread.
The Dallas case “underscores that Ebola is a global and national security issue and that we need to double-down on our efforts to help West Africa get this outbreak under control”, Gerald Parker‚ vice-president for Public Health Preparedness and Response at Texas A& M Health Science Centre‚ said in an interview.
Frieden has said US hospitals are well prepared to handle Ebola patients and has assured the public that the virus should not pose the same threat in the US as it does in Africa.
Ebola symptoms generally appear between two and 21 days after infection‚ meaning there is a significant window during which an infected person can escape detection‚ allowing them to travel.
Symptoms include fever‚ vomiting and diarrhoea.
First US Ebola case diagnosed in Texas
More than 6500 cases have been diagnosed‚ and the CDC has warned that the number of infections could rise to as many as 1.4-million people by early next year without a massive global intervention to contain the virus.
US hospitals have treated‚ and released‚ three aid workers who were infected in Africa and flown back to the US under strict medical supervision in a specially outfitted airplane.
A fourth person is being treated at Emory University Hospital in Atlanta‚ Georgia and a fifth person who may have been exposed to the virus is under observation at the National Institutes of Health in Bethesda‚ Maryland.
President Barack Obama discussed the Dallas case with Frieden on Tuesday‚ the White House said.
The Ebola outbreak has overwhelmed health systems in Africa prompting the US government and other nations to send funds‚ supplies and personnel to stop its spread.
The Dallas case “underscores that Ebola is a global and national security issue and that we need to double-down on our efforts to help West Africa get this outbreak under control”, Gerald Parker‚ vice-president for Public Health Preparedness and Response at Texas A& M Health Science Centre‚ said in an interview.
Frieden has said US hospitals are well prepared to handle Ebola patients and has assured the public that the virus should not pose the same threat in the US as it does in Africa.
Ebola symptoms generally appear between two and 21 days after infection‚ meaning there is a significant window during which an infected person can escape detection‚ allowing them to travel.
Symptoms include fever‚ vomiting and diarrhoea.
Would you like to comment on this article?
Register (it's quick and free) or sign in now.
Please read our Comment Policy before commenting.
Trending Now
Latest Videos