The government plans to begin taking the temperatures of travelers from West Africa arriving at five U.S. airports as part of a stepped-up response to the Ebola epidemic
Update at 4:00 p.m.
FRISCO (AP) — Suburban Dallas officials say a sheriff’s deputy who went into the apartment where the first U.S. Ebola patient had stayed is hospitalized “out of an abundance of caution” after falling ill.
Frisco officials say the deputy was transported Wednesday after an urgent care facility reported a patient “exhibiting signs and symptoms” of Ebola claimed to have had contact with the man diagnosed with the disease in Dallas.
Federal and state health officials say there’s no indication the deputy had any direct contact with Thomas Eric Duncan.
Frisco Fire Chief Mark Piland says the deputy entered the apartment where Duncan had been staying and had contact with some members of the family that lived there.
Health officials say none of the family members has exhibited symptoms and wouldn’t have been contagious.
Update at 3:36 p.m.
FRISCO (AP) — Emergency responders in suburban Dallas say a patient “exhibiting signs and symptoms” of Ebola claims to have had contact with the man diagnosed with the disease in Dallas. But state health officials say there is no indication the person had any direct contact with Thomas Eric Duncan.
The city of Frisco says dispatchers received a call from an urgent care facility Wednesday regarding the patient. The release says “the patient claims to have had contact with the Dallas ‘patient zero.'”
Public health officials are monitoring 48 people confirmed to have had varying degrees of contact with Duncan.
Texas state health officials say the person in Frisco wasn’t among those being monitored and added that none of the people being monitored have reported any symptoms of Ebola.
An infectious disease expert says the Dallas patient who died of Ebola suggests not all hospitals are prepared to treat the disease. Dr. Richard Wenzel also says enhanced airport screenings of passengers from West Africa may not have much impact.
Update at 3:02 p.m.
DALLAS (AP) — The pastor of the church attended by the woman who hosted Dallas Ebola patient Thomas Eric Duncan says she reacted with “great shock and despair” when she learned Wednesday of Duncan’s death.
Wilshire Baptist Church pastor George Mason says he and Dallas County Judge Clay Jenkins notified Louise Troh of Duncan’s death.
Mason says three boys staying with Troh at an isolated location are worried they, too, will become sick because they were exposed to Duncan when he stayed with the family prior to being hospitalized.
He says Troh has questions about Duncan’s care at Texas Health Presbyterian Hospital, but added she’s “not seeking to create any kind of division in our community.”
Mason and Jenkins maintained a distance from Troh and the boys during the visit out of caution.
Update at 2:30 p.m.
DALLAS (AP) — Texas health officials say the remains of the first person diagnosed with Ebola in the United States will be cremated.
Liberia native Thomas Eric Duncan died Wednesday morning at a hospital in Dallas. The 42-year-old came to Texas in late September, but did not display obvious signs of having the virus when he entered the U.S.
The Texas Department of State Health Services said in a news release that Duncan will be cremated so his remains can be returned to the family.
When or where the cremation would occur was unclear.
The U.S. Center for Disease Control and Prevention says the remains of Ebola victims remain contagious — but the cremation process will kill the virus.
Update at 11:00 a.m.
DALLAS (AP) — A Dallas hospital spokesman says the first Ebola patient diagnosed in the United States has died.
Wendell Watson of Texas Health Presbyterian Hospital says Thomas Eric Duncan died Wednesday morning.
Duncan arrived in Dallas Sept. 20 from Liberia and fell ill a few days later. He was sent home after an initial visit to the emergency room, but taken back to the hospital Sept. 28 and has been kept in isolation ever since.
Others in Dallas could be in danger as officials try to contain the virus that has ravaged West Africa, killing thousands of people. Officials say 10 people had direct contact with Duncan while he was contagious.
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