UPDATE: Texas home to first Ebola case in US

NEWS Staff Report

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) announced Tuesday, Sept. 30, that Ebola has been confirmed in Dallas – the first such case in the U.S.

Ebola patients were treated in the States earlier this year; those were contracted in West Africa.

According to reports, the patient, who had recently traveled to West Africa and arrived at the hospital on Monday with Ebola symptoms, has reportedly been in quarantine since the onset of his symptoms. The identity of the patient, a male subject, was not released as of press time Tuesday; however, it was confirmed that he was at Texas Health Presbyterian Hospital in Dallas.

Whether other people have been exposed to the patient in question remained unknown as of press time. The CDC was scheduled to hold a press conference Tuesday with Dallas and Texas state health officials from the aforementioned hospital.

The CDC informs on its website that, according to researchers, the first patient “becomes infected through contact with an infected animal.” The deadly virus can spread, according to the CDC, by direct contact through broken skin or mucous membranes, including the following:

  • Blood or body fluids (including but not limited to urine, saliva, feces, vomit, and semen) of a person who is sick with Ebola
  • Objects (like needles and syringes) that have been contaminated with the virus;
  • Infected animals.

Ebola, according to the CDC, is not an airborne virus and cannot spread by water, or in general, food. However, Ebola may be spread in Africa as a result of handling bushmeat (wild animals hunted for food) and contact with infected bats.”

The CDC reports that Ebola symptoms “may appear anywhere from 2 to 21 days after exposure to Ebola, but the average is 8 to 10 days,” and include fever greater than 101.5 degrees Fahrenheit; severe headache; muscle pain; weakness; diarrhea; vomiting; abdominal (stomach) pain; and unexplained hemorrhaging (bleeding or bruising).

Also, the CDC reports that recovery depends on the patient’s immune response.

Ebola’s fatality rate can be as high as 90 percent.

 

Permanent link to this article: https://www.sbnewspaper.com/2014/09/30/breaking-cdc-confirms-first-ebola-case-in-u-s/

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