FollowLast week we reported on the CDC’s estimate that the Ebola cases in West Africa could exceed half a million by January, and today we’ve got the latest Ebola news. The CDC has just confirmed the first case of a patient being diagnosed with Ebola inside the U.S.
First Case of Ebola in the U.S.
The CDC has released a statement yesterday in which they have confirmed the existence of the first case of Ebola in the U.S. This refers to a patient that was diagnosed with the deadly Ebola virus while inside the United States of America. All the others who have been treated for Ebola on U.S. were diagnosed on African continent. This patient entered the county on their own two feet, while being infected with the virus.
We still don’t know who the patient is, but we know the CDC is referring to them as he and that he arrived from Liberia to Texas 10 days ago. He developed the first symptoms of the disease on September 24 and following hospitalization, he was put inside an isolation unit at the Texas Health Presbyterian Hospital in Dallas. The man was out and about while sick with Ebola for four days.
U.S. officials have launched a massive effort to treat the man and also identify all the people he has come into contact ever since he arrived from Liberia.
Director of the CDC, Tom Frieden, said that the number of people that were potentially exposed to the virus is small:
‘Handful’ is the right characterization, one, two or three others. It’s possible that someone who had contact with this individual could develop Ebola in the coming weeks. There is no doubt in my mind we will stop it here.
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