Oh Hey, About That Poor Innocent Ebola Patient In Texas

…it turns out that things are a bit more…complicated

Last night’s post was based on the understanding that our dear patient in Dallas didn’t know he was infected, and happened to get exposed as he was making a planned trip to visit family in the United States. That would indicate that it would be a comparatively isolated incident (around twenty people exposed and will be monitored).

That no longer appears to be the case.

More below the fold. I apologize in advance for the length of this, but there’s a lot to talk about…

Okay, so here’s what we know as of this evening…

Our patient’s name appears to be Thomas Eric Duncan of Liberia. Check out Bryan Preston’s brief rundown of the NY Times article.

He came into direct contact with a friend who had Ebola. He rode with her in a taxi and carried her from the taxi to a hospital on September 15, four days before he flew to the United States. She was turned away from the hospital because the Ebola ward was full.
She died of Ebola early the following morning. Her brother also got sick and shows Ebola symptoms. That was at the same time that Duncan started getting sick. He left Liberia and arrived in Texas on September 20. Six days later he sought treatment at Texas Presbyterian Hospital, and was sent home. He returned two days later, and has been confirmed to be infected with Ebola.

Duncan also abruptly quit his job on September 4, so he might have already planned the trip to see his family in the U.S.

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.

Editorial note: it has NOT been established that he was feeling sick prior to getting on the plane, despite the above blockquote.

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”.

Read the rest of the article.

It will infuriate and concern you.

But rest assured, our border is secure.

2 Responses to “Oh Hey, About That Poor Innocent Ebola Patient In Texas”

1. Dr Alice says:

   October 2, 2014 at 10:13 am

   I’m reading it right now. It’s disturbing, to say the least. And as someone pointed out on the comments thread, the fact that we successfully treated two missionary healthcare personnel may have sent the message “If you can get to the US, they can save you.”

2. aelfheld says:

   October 2, 2014 at 11:58 am

   I assume, when you say ‘our border is secure’, you’re referring to our border with Canada where no effort has been spared to protect us from the deadly threat of Kinder eggs and ravaging hordes of rogue pipers.