First case of ebola in US confirmed at Dallas hospital
ABC affiliate WFAA said the person had been held in “strict isolation” as he or she was evaluated for possible exposure to the virus.
It is the first case of ebola confirmed in the US.
In a statement last night, Texas Health Presbyterian Hospital Dallas said the patient was admitted based on symptoms and “recent travel history”.
The hospital, located in northeast Dallas, said it was complying with all recommendations from the US Centers for Disease Control and the Texas Department of Health to ensure the safety of other patients and medical staff.
Zachary Thompson, the director of the Dallas County Health and& Human Services, said Dallas County is ready to care for the patient.
“This is not Africa,” Thompson said. “We have a great infrastructure to deal with an outbreak.”
The World Health Organisation said it has confirmed more than 3,000 ebola-related deaths in West Africa during the current outbreak, which has spread to five countries: Guinea, Liberia, Nigeria, Senegal, and Sierra Leone.
Fort Worth physician Kent Brantly, who became infected while working in Liberia, recovered after being moved to a hospital in Atlanta.
Several other hospitals in the US previously raised alerts in connection with patients who presented ebola-like symptoms, but all those cases tested negative for the virus.
Earlier this month, President Barack Obama announced that the US would offer military and medical help to combat the disease in West Africa which has now reached epidemic proportions.
US military personnel are being deployed to help Liberia halt the advance of the worst ebola epidemic on record, Major General Darryl Williams said in the capital, Monrovia.
Washington is sending some 3,000 soldiers to the region to build treatment centres and train local medics. Around half will be based in Liberia, with the rest providing logistical support outside the country.
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