First Ebola Case Diagnosed in US Confirmed by CDC - East Idaho News

First Ebola Case Diagnosed in US Confirmed by CDC

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93014 TexasHealthPresbyterian?  SQUARESPACE CACHEVERSION=1412112999474Will Montgomery (ATLANTA) — The first Ebola case has been diagnosed in the United States, but a top health official said there is “no doubt… we will stop it here.”

Dr. Tom Frieden, the director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, said on Tuesday the patient left Liberia on Sept. 19 and arrived in the U.S. on Sept. 20. The patient sought medical help on Sept. 26 and was put in isolation on Sept. 28, Frieden said.

Tests confirming the Ebola diagnosis came back on Tuesday.


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Frieden stressed that the patient was not sick on departure from Liberia or upon arrival in the U.S., and the disease can only be contracted by someone exhibiting symptoms of the disease.

Frieden said he was confident there would not be an Ebola outbreak in the U.S.

“There is no doubt in my mind we will stop it here,” he said.


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Frieden declined to identify the patient other than to say, “The individual was here to visit family who live in this country.” Frieden later indicated the patient was male when he modified the comment to say, “He was visiting family members and staying with family members who live in this country.”

Health officials are tracking down the patient’s close contacts to determine whether they contracted the virus, Frieden said.

Although American Ebola patients have been treated in the United States prior to this diagnosis, they all contracted Ebola in West Africa.


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Dr. Edward Goodman, head epidemiologist at the Texas Health Presbyterian Hospital Dallas, said he could not reveal information about the patient’s symptoms or treatment, but said that “he is ill and he is under intensive care.”

Frieden said possible experimental therapies are being discussed with the family and may be announced later.

Ebola has killed 2,917 people and infected 3,346 others since the outbreak began in March.

The patient arrived at Texas Health Presbyterian Hospital in Dallas Sunday with possible Ebola symptoms “days” after returning from West Africa, according to the Texas state health department. The patient was placed in isolation until the CDC could confirm the diagnosis.

Ebola is spread via contact with bodily fluids, such as blood and urine, but it is not contagious unless Ebola symptoms are present, the state health department said. Symptoms can take between two and 21 days to appear after exposure to the virus, according to the CDC.

This has been the worst Ebola outbreak since the virus was discovered in 1976. More people have died from Ebola since March than in every other Ebola outbreak to date combined, according to data from the World Health Organization.


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