Washington-Area Hospital Admits Possible Ebola Case
by VOA News October 03, 2014
A patient with Ebola-like symptoms has been admitted to a Washington, D.C.-area hospital.
Kerry-Ann Hamilton, a spokeswoman for Howard University Hospital said on Friday that a patient who recently traveled to Nigeria was in stable condition.
Hamilton said medical authorities have isolated the patient and 'activated the appropriate infection control protocols.'
Meanwhile, the Dallas County health director in Dallas, Texas, said the situation surrounding the first U.S. diagnosis of Ebola virus is 'under control,' despite the quarantine of four people and the monitoring of close to 100 others.
Dr. David Lakey, commissioner of the Texas Department of State Health Services, said that of the 100 people contacted, about 50 are now being observed daily for symptoms of the deadly virus.
Of those 50, about 10 are considered at high risk, while the rest are considered at low risk, Lakey added.
'There is no outbreak'
Zachary Thompson, Dallas County Health and Human Services director, said on U.S. television Friday that 'there is no outbreak.' He told news network CNN that Texans should relax and allow health officials to respond to the issue.
Liberian national Thomas Duncan, who was diagnosed with Ebola on Sunday after traveling from Liberia to the United States, remained isolated in serious but stable condition at a Dallas hospital.
Four of his family members, including several children, are under enforced quarantine at their Dallas apartment.
Liberian officials said they will prosecute Duncan, who flew from Liberia and arrived in Texas on September 20, for allegedly lying on an airport travel form when he was asked if he had any contact with an Ebola victim.
Duncan is reported to have answered 'no,' even though he helped a pregnant Ebola victim into a taxi.
And, in Liberia, a U.S. cameraman working for NBC News has contracted Ebola. The network said it is flying back to the U.S. the entire news crew who will be placed under a 21-day quarantine.
US response, more troops
Senior Obama administration officials will hold a press briefing on the U.S. government's response to the Ebola epidemic at 3:30 p.m. EDT (1930 GMT), officials said.
Lisa Monaco, assistant to the president for homeland security, Health Secretary Sylvia Burwell and Dr. Anthony Fauci of the National Institutes of Health were to take part in the briefing, the White House said.
Also, the Pentagon said on Friday the total number of U.S. forces that could be deployed to West Africa as part of America's response to the Ebola crisis could reach nearly 4,000, a figure well above estimates of about 3,000 previously given.
"We project that there could be nearly 4,000 troops deployed in support of this mission, but we are obviously assessing the requirements on a daily basis," said Rear Admiral John Kirby, the Pentagon press secretary. "It may not go that high."
WHO report
The World Health Organization reports that more than 3,300 people have died and more than 7,000 have been infected with Ebola in Guinea, Liberia and Sierra Leone.
The United Nations launched a mission Thursday to help prevent the spread of the disease.
Anthony Banbury, head of the U.N. Mission on Ebola Emergency Response (UNMEER), began a tour of the three Ebola-stricken nations with a visit to the Liberian capital, Monrovia.
Banbury said the only way to end the crisis is to 'end every last case of the virus and eliminate the risk of transmission.'
The virus causes uncontrollable bleeding, vomiting and diarrhea. It is spread by direct contact with the body fluids of infected patients.
There is no specific treatment, but an American doctor diagnosed with the virus was found to be Ebola-free after taking an experimental drug in August.
Some material for this report came from Reuters.
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