CDC director vows to “stop Ebola in its tracks” by identifying everyone who came into contact with the patient since he became contagious.
Tom Frieden, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention director, addresses a congressional subcommittee hearing on the threat of Ebola on Aug. 7, 2014, in Washington. (Alejandro Davila Fragoso/MCT)
(MCT) — The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention confirmed Tuesday that a Dallas patient was the first person in the U.S. to be diagnosed with the Ebola virus.
Federal, state and local officials immediately tried to dampen fears that the patient could trigger an outbreak of the deadly disease.
Dr. Tom Frieden, the CDC director, vowed to “stop Ebola in its tracks” by identifying everyone who came into contact with the patient since he became contagious. Each of those people will be watched for signs of illness, including sudden fever, and if they develop them will be placed in isolation to prevent further spread of the disease.
“This is a tried-and-true protocol. This is what we do,” he said at a nationally broadcast media briefing in Atlanta. “There is no doubt in my mind that we will stop it here.”
The patient, who has not been identified, had traveled by plane from Liberia in West Africa and was visiting family in North Texas. He remains in isolation at Texas Health Presbyterian Hospital, undergoing treatment for symptoms of the dreaded virus. He was described Tuesday as being critically ill.
Presbyterian announced late Monday that the patient could be an Ebola case, based on his recent travel and his symptoms.
The patient’s blood tested positive for the virus Tuesday morning in a state laboratory in Austin, said Dr. David Lakey, commissioner of the Texas Department of State Health Services.
“We have no other suspicious cases in Texas at this time,” he said.
The CDC’s laboratory in Atlanta confirmed the diagnosis later Tuesday and alerted the media at 3:32 p.m. Although the information was embargoed until 4:30 p.m., many news outlets released it immediately.
The virus, named for the Ebola River in the Congo, has had a 90 percent fatality rate in Africa, although the rate for the current outbreak in West Africa is about 60 percent. More than 3,000 deaths have been linked to the disease. There is no vaccine or specific treatment for Ebola.
Frieden said the Dallas patient arrived Sept. 20 in the U.S. He had no Ebola symptoms during the trip, which meant he was not contagious.
On Sept. 24, he developed symptoms, and two days later he sought medical care at Presbyterian’s emergency room. He was sent home but was admitted to the hospital on Sunday. He was placed in isolation and tested for Ebola.
Zachary Thompson, director of Dallas County Health and Human Services, said his staff has begun tracing the patient’s movements from the time he became ill until he was placed in isolation in the hospital.
Every contact will be followed for up to 21 days, which is how long it can take for a person exposed to Ebola to begin showing symptoms. Symptoms include nausea, vomiting, diarrhea and body aches unrelated to any other disease.
Frieden said the contact-tracing effort would “cast a net widely.”
But so far, the people who might have been exposed include “a handful” of family members, whom the patient was visiting, and “a few community members,” he said. The hospital workers who initially treated the patient also will be contacted.
The two-man Dallas Fire-Rescue EMS crew that transported the patient to the hospital Sunday morning also will be monitored, in accordance with CDC and Dallas County health guidelines.
The CDC director declined to reveal the patient’s nationality, age or other identifying characteristics, such as where his relatives live in the Dallas area.
Dr. Edward Goodman, an epidemiologist at Presbyterian, noted that U.S. patient privacy laws prohibit health care providers from identifying the patient further.
Authorities did say, however, that the patient did not appear to have been caring for Ebola victims in Africa. How he became infected is not known.
Although the virus is new to the U.S., hospitals have been preparing for its arrival, and the Presbyterian staff is well prepared to handle “this crisis,” Goodman said.
Frieden stressed that Ebola can only be spread through direct contact with an infected person’s bodily fluids, including saliva, urine or blood.
“Ebola is a scary disease,” he conceded. “We’re all hoping for the recovery of this individual.”
Meanwhile, the effort to stop its spread in Dallas County is just getting started.
The CDC will send a crew of infectious-disease experts to assist local agencies.
Dallas Mayor Mike Rawlings said an emergency operations center has been set up at City Hall, in case it’s needed.
“We’ve spoken to the county, state, and CDC’s on the way,” said Rawlings. “There’s a clear protocol laid out, and everyone’s making sure they are dotting every I and crossing every T.”
Federal, state and local officials immediately tried to dampen fears that the patient could trigger an outbreak of the deadly disease.
Dr. Tom Frieden, the CDC director, vowed to “stop Ebola in its tracks” by identifying everyone who came into contact with the patient since he became contagious. Each of those people will be watched for signs of illness, including sudden fever, and if they develop them will be placed in isolation to prevent further spread of the disease.
“This is a tried-and-true protocol. This is what we do,” he said at a nationally broadcast media briefing in Atlanta. “There is no doubt in my mind that we will stop it here.”
The patient, who has not been identified, had traveled by plane from Liberia in West Africa and was visiting family in North Texas. He remains in isolation at Texas Health Presbyterian Hospital, undergoing treatment for symptoms of the dreaded virus. He was described Tuesday as being critically ill.
Presbyterian announced late Monday that the patient could be an Ebola case, based on his recent travel and his symptoms.
The patient’s blood tested positive for the virus Tuesday morning in a state laboratory in Austin, said Dr. David Lakey, commissioner of the Texas Department of State Health Services.
“We have no other suspicious cases in Texas at this time,” he said.
The CDC’s laboratory in Atlanta confirmed the diagnosis later Tuesday and alerted the media at 3:32 p.m. Although the information was embargoed until 4:30 p.m., many news outlets released it immediately.
The virus, named for the Ebola River in the Congo, has had a 90 percent fatality rate in Africa, although the rate for the current outbreak in West Africa is about 60 percent. More than 3,000 deaths have been linked to the disease. There is no vaccine or specific treatment for Ebola.
Frieden said the Dallas patient arrived Sept. 20 in the U.S. He had no Ebola symptoms during the trip, which meant he was not contagious.
On Sept. 24, he developed symptoms, and two days later he sought medical care at Presbyterian’s emergency room. He was sent home but was admitted to the hospital on Sunday. He was placed in isolation and tested for Ebola.
Zachary Thompson, director of Dallas County Health and Human Services, said his staff has begun tracing the patient’s movements from the time he became ill until he was placed in isolation in the hospital.
Every contact will be followed for up to 21 days, which is how long it can take for a person exposed to Ebola to begin showing symptoms. Symptoms include nausea, vomiting, diarrhea and body aches unrelated to any other disease.
Frieden said the contact-tracing effort would “cast a net widely.”
But so far, the people who might have been exposed include “a handful” of family members, whom the patient was visiting, and “a few community members,” he said. The hospital workers who initially treated the patient also will be contacted.
The two-man Dallas Fire-Rescue EMS crew that transported the patient to the hospital Sunday morning also will be monitored, in accordance with CDC and Dallas County health guidelines.
The CDC director declined to reveal the patient’s nationality, age or other identifying characteristics, such as where his relatives live in the Dallas area.
Dr. Edward Goodman, an epidemiologist at Presbyterian, noted that U.S. patient privacy laws prohibit health care providers from identifying the patient further.
Authorities did say, however, that the patient did not appear to have been caring for Ebola victims in Africa. How he became infected is not known.
Although the virus is new to the U.S., hospitals have been preparing for its arrival, and the Presbyterian staff is well prepared to handle “this crisis,” Goodman said.
Frieden stressed that Ebola can only be spread through direct contact with an infected person’s bodily fluids, including saliva, urine or blood.
“Ebola is a scary disease,” he conceded. “We’re all hoping for the recovery of this individual.”
Meanwhile, the effort to stop its spread in Dallas County is just getting started.
The CDC will send a crew of infectious-disease experts to assist local agencies.
Dallas Mayor Mike Rawlings said an emergency operations center has been set up at City Hall, in case it’s needed.
“We’ve spoken to the county, state, and CDC’s on the way,” said Rawlings. “There’s a clear protocol laid out, and everyone’s making sure they are dotting every I and crossing every T.”
TIMELINE
Here’s how the Ebola virus traveled to Dallas:
Sept. 19: The adult male patient leaves Liberia.
Sept. 20: The patient arrives in the United States.
Sept. 24: The patient begins to have symptoms of the virus.
Friday: The patient seeks care at Texas Health Presbyterian Hospital in Dallas either late Thursday night or early Friday morning. His symptoms were not specific enough to identify the virus and he was released.
Sunday: The patient is taken to Presbyterian Hospital by Dallas Fire-Rescue ambulance. He is listed in critical condition in intensive care in isolation.
Tuesday: Positive test results at the Centers for Disease Control and the Texas State Department of Health Services are confirmed. Officials say that a “handful” of family members and two to three others had contact with the patient. Dallas activates its Emergency Operations Center to Level 2 — high readiness — to monitor the case and work with federal, state and county officials.
WHAT’S NEXT
The CDC has convened a team of epidemiologists and will take the lead in the Ebola investigation.
Health care investigators will identify all people who had contact with the patient and monitor them for 21 days. Two Dallas Fire-Rescue crew members who transported the patient are also being monitored.
The CDC said it is possible that someone who came in contact with the patient could develop Ebola.
HIGHLIGHTS
Officials at the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in Atlanta emphasized that the risk of anyone contracting the disease here is extremely small because it requires exposure to the bodily fluids of someone with the virus.
CDC Director Tom Frieden said there is no danger in the United States of a widespread outbreak like the one in West Africa.
“It is certainly possible that someone who has had contact with this patient could develop Ebola,” he said. “But there is no doubt in my mind that we will stop it here.”
Because the man was not sick while on the plane or in the airport, health officials are not contacting fellow passengers. “There is zero risk of transmission on the flight,” Frieden said. “He was checked for fever before getting on the flight.”
Officials at Texas Health Presbyterian said there is no danger for patients, workers or visitors because of rigorous infectious disease control practices.
Staff writers Matthew Watkins and Robert Wilonsky contributed to this report.
©2014 The Dallas Morning News. Distributed by MCT Information Services
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