Texas Ebola Patient Not Receiving Experimental Medication
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iStock/Thinkstock(DALLAS) — Thomas Eric Duncan, the first person to be diagnosed with Ebola in the U.S., is not being treated with experimental medication, officials with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said Sunday.
Doctors treating Duncan fear that the experimental medication may worsen his condition, CDC Director Tom Frieden said. Duncan is instead only receiving supportive care.
David Lakey, commissioner of the Texas Department of State Health Services, also said that Duncan’s medical condition had worsened. Doctors downgraded his condition from serious to critical on Saturday.
Duncan is being treated in an isolation unit at Texas Health Presbyterian Hospital.
Authorities in Dallas on Sunday located a homeless individual, Michael Lively, believed to be at “low risk” for exposure after possible contact with Duncan. He will be taken to Parkland Hospital.
Health officials are also monitoring about 50 people who may have had contact with Duncan, including 9 believed to be at “high risk” for exposure.
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