The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) on Tuesday confirmed that a man who flew from Liberia to Dallas tested positive for Ebola, the first case of the deadly disease in the United States and outside West Africa, where it has killed thousands of people since February.
In a report by Fox News, the patient, whose name is still being withheld, left Liberia on September 19 and arrived in Dallas, Texas on September 20 without any signs of the virus, CDC Director Dr. Thomas Frieden said.
“[The patient] had no symptoms when departing Liberia or entering this country. But four or five days later on the 24th of September, he began to develop symptoms,” Frieden said in a press conference on Tuesday afternoon.
The patient was in the U.S. to visit his family in Texas. On September 26, he sought medical attention and was only diagnosed until two days after. He is currently isolated at the Texas Health Presbyterian Hospital of Dallas, where he is in critical condition, Frieden said.
According to the director, there are only “handful” of people that the patient got contact with and they will be put into quarantine within 21 days and observe if any one of them will exhibit symptoms, The Washington Post reported.
“It’s only someone who’s sick with Ebola who can spread the disease,” Frieden said. “Once those contacts are all identified, they’re all monitored for 21 days after exposure to see if they develop a fever.”
Frieden assured the public that the virus will be contained as the CDC has special facilities and trained personnel can take care of patients infected with Ebola.
