About a hundred people may have come into contact with the man who brought Ebola into the United States, the CDC director said Thursday.
In an afternoon press conference, Dr. Thomas Frieden and two Texas officials confirmed four people have been ordered into quarantine in Dallas because of their suspected contact with Thomas Eric Duncan, who is now being treated in isolation in a Dallas hospital for Ebola infection. They said a law enforcement officer is posted outside the apartment in which the four are staying to encourage compliance with the order.
“The decision to put controls on these individuals was to ensure we can monitor them as needed,” said Dr. David Lakey, Texas health commissioner. “I had concern yesterday in our ability to be confident that that monitoring was going to take place. In order to ensure that that monitoring took place, I signed that control order.”
The four will be quarantined for 21 days and their temperatures taken twice a day, Lakey said. He noted that all four are healthy and are showing no symptoms.
Asked to respond to a report this afternoon that Liberia intends to prosecute Duncan for lying on travel documents, Frieden said, “This individual did not have a fever when he left. The status of his possible exposure prior to his departure is something that being investigated now.
"The exit form does ask about exposures to patients who may have had exposure to Ebola. Those questions are on that form," Frieden continued. "Individuals don't always know what their exposures have been and individuals don't always disclose what their exposures may have been."
The New York Times reported today that Duncan had contact with a desperately ill young woman with whom he rode in a taxi to the hospital and, when she was turned away, rode home with her and then helped to carry her because she was too weak to walk. She died Sept. 16, the Times said.
Frieden said this afternoon that CDC had obtained the record of Duncan's temperature check at the airport in Monrovia. It was 97.3, he said.
Frieden and Lakey also answered questions about why Duncan was sent home from the hospital when he first presented with symptoms.
"This is a very sophisticated hospital," Lakey said. "They've done a lot of education related to preparedness for Ebola. Unfortunately, connections weren't made related to travel history and symptoms."
Frieden added: "CDC has refreshed our information for hospitals with a checklist and a poster. We recognize it's a challenge for hospitals because the volume of patients seen in the emergency department may be high. It's a teachable moment, as we say, and it's very important to emphasize travel histories."
In response to a question, Frieden said Duncan will have access to experimental medications to treat Ebola if his doctor and he agree that such drugs are appropriate.
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