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-Signs, Portents, and the Weather-
In Dallas Ebola Case, Officials Are Monitoring Children Exposed to Patient
2014-10-02
[NY Times] DALLAS -- Health officials in Dallas are monitoring at least five schoolchildren in North Texas who came into contact with a man found to have Ebola virus, after he became sick and infectious.

The authorities also said that an early opportunity to put the patient in isolation, limiting the risk of contagion, may have been missed because of a failure to pass along critical information about his travel history.

The patient was identified by Liberian health officials and The Associated Press as Thomas Eric Duncan, a Liberian national. Mr. Duncan came to the United States on Sept. 20 aboard a commercial airliner and officials said that he had shown no symptoms of the disease while on the flight and that he had posed no threat to other passengers.

The body of Sonny Boy Williams, 21, hours after he was picked up alive from his home in Monrovia, Liberia. The man who flew to Dallas and was later found to have the Ebola virus, identified by Liberian officials as Thomas Eric Duncan, helped Mr. Williams carry his sister, Marthalene Williams, 19, who was stricken by Ebola, to and from a hospital last month. She died the next day.

A school official measured a pupil's temperature last week in Lagos, Nigeria, one of several countries in Africa affected by Ebola.Nigeria's Actions Seem to Contain Ebola Outbreak SEPT. 30, 2014

Mr. Duncan worked at a shipping company in Monrovia, Liberia, but had just quit his job, giving his resignation in early September, his boss said. He had gotten a visa to the United States and had decided to go, his neighbors said. He lived alone, but has family in the United States, they said.
Posted by:Fred

#10  Watch "The Strain" on FX. Get past the vampire bits and focus on transmission, ......
Posted by: USN, Ret.   2014-10-02 18:06  

#9  "The Stand" by Stephen King
Posted by: bman   2014-10-02 17:57  

#8  Do we need to review our Tom Clancy?
Posted by: AlanC   2014-10-02 14:03  

#7  Oh super. Four of Duncan's relatives directly exposed and restricted to their homes have been out and about:

"The family was having some challenges following the directions to stay home, so we're taking every precaution," Texas Department of Health spokeswoman Carrie Williams said about why the state had issued a legal order. "Food and other needs of the family are being worked out logistically today. Those needs will be specifically covered to allow them to stay in the house."
Posted by: RandomJD   2014-10-02 12:20  

#6  I've been war-gaming worst-case scenarios since July. But this shocked me:

But he certainly knew that he had been exposed to Ebola by the time he boarded that plane and came to Texas, four days after his friend died of it. He must surely have known it when he first visited the Texas Presbyterian Hospital, and he must have known it when the doctors sent him home.
. . .

Let that sink in, though: he knew he'd been exposed, and it's not unfair to deduce that he thought to himself, "the Americans will save me".
. . .

IF he survives- and he's still in pretty bad shape- then it's not much of a leap of logic to figure a lot of sick and potentially sick people will make the decision that it's worth the effort to get over to North America.
Posted by: RandomJD   2014-10-02 11:43  

#5  Still no word on gov't travel restrictions to and from the infected regions. Warnings yes, restrictions no. No word on travel visas or screening.

Potential Implications for Travel Because of Ebola in Parts of West Africa
Posted by: Besoeker   2014-10-02 11:05  

#4  He should received zero treatment but be quarantined.
Posted by: Bright Pebbles   2014-10-02 11:02  

#3  Now the count is up to 'as many as' 80, 5 kids are 'in home protection' and their schools have been scrubbed.
Posted by: Skidmark   2014-10-02 10:56  

#2  aaaand that changes everything
Posted by: Frank G   2014-10-02 09:05  

#1  Nice chap that Thomas Eric Duncan. People were turning up dead all around him and he flew on to the states anyway and mingled with children. Nice chap. Hoping for the very best for him, and that his estate is able to pay the medical costs.
Posted by: Besoeker   2014-10-02 06:15  

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