Thomas Eric Duncan, the first person to be diagnosed with Ebola after showing symptoms of the deadly disease on U.S. soil, died Wednesday morning while in isolation at a Dallas hospital, a hospital spokesman said. About 48 people, who had been in contact with Duncan, are still being monitored, with ten believed to be at "high risk" for exposure.
"It is with profound sadness and heartfelt disappointment that we must inform you of the death of Thomas Eric Duncan this morning at 7:51 am," hospital spokesman Wendell Watson said in an emailed statement.
After returning to Texas from Liberia, 42-year-old Duncan started showing symptoms of the viral disease early last week and was admitted to Texas Health Presbyterian Hospital after testing positive for Ebola, Reuters reported. He had been in critical condition since several days.
"Mr. Duncan succumbed to an insidious disease, Ebola. He fought courageously in this battle. Our professionals, the doctors and nurses in the unit, as well as the entire Texas Health Presbyterian Hospital Dallas community, are also grieving his passing. We have offered the family our support and condolences at this difficult time," the hospital said in a statement.
On Sep. 20, Duncan was allowed to fly in from Liberia's capital Monrovia, the center of the Ebola outbreak, after he filled out an airport questionnaire stating that he had not been in contact with Ebola-infected patients. Since then, Liberian officials have confirmed that he had lied and had in fact been in contact with a pregnant woman who later died of the disease.
Four days later, Duncan started experiencing fever and vomiting, eventually rushing to the emergency room at Texas Health Presbyterian Hospital and being sent back home with some antibiotics. His condition worsened by Sept. 27, forcing him to return to the hospital in an ambulance, where they diagnosed the disease and placed him in isolation up to his death.
"The hospital has changed its explanation several times about when Duncan arrived and what he said about his travel history," TheBlaze reported. "It later acknowledged that Duncan told them on his first visit that he came from West Africa."
On Sunday, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention had stated that the 42-year-old was not receiving ZMapp, an experimental drug, since it was "all gone" and was "not going to be available anytime soon."
A second experimental option, a drug produced by Canada's Tekmira Pharmaceuticals Corp, was available for Duncan, but it "can be difficult to use and can make someone sicker initially," Tom Frieden, director of CDC, said, adding that Duncan was only receiving supportive care, RT reported.
Meanwhile, a private residence in northeast Dallas where four people lived alongside Duncan has also been isolated. Everyone who potentially had contact with Duncan will be monitored for 21 days, the normal incubation period for the disease, which is transmitted through direct contact with infected bodily fluids.
It takes about three weeks for Ebola victims to start showing symptoms, at which point the disease becomes contagious.
"The past week has been an enormous test of our health system, but for one family it has been far more personal. Today they lost a dear member of their family. They have our sincere condolences, and we are keeping them in our thoughts," David Lakey, commissioner of the Texas Department of State Health Services said in a statement.
The Ebola outbreak started in Guinea's remote southeast in February and has since spread across the region. Since it was first recorded in 1976 in what is now Democratic Republic of Congo, more than 3,400 people have died in the outbreak from more than 7,400 infections in Liberia, Sierra Leone, Guinea and Nigeria.
Symptoms of the highly infectious disease are diarrhea, vomiting and internal and external bleeding.
