Thomas Eric Duncan, the first person to be diagnosed with the deadly Ebola virus in the United States, died in a Texas hospital on Wednesday even as authorities are closely monitoring people who had come into contact with him since his arrival on September 20.
“It is with profound sadness and heartfelt disappointment that we must inform you of the death of Thomas Eric Duncan this morning at 7.51 am. Duncan succumbed to an insidious disease, Ebola,” the Texas Health Presbyterian Hospital in Dallas said in a statement.
In the face of a widening public health scare that has accompanied Duncan’s illness and treatment, the US authorities have issued instructions to begin enhanced screening measures, starting with five of the country’s busiest international airports: JFK in New York, Washington Dulles, O’Hare in Chicago, Hartsfield-Jackson in Atlanta and Newark liberty in New Jersey.
A liberian national, the 42-year-old Duncan arrived in Dallas on September 20, five days after he had helped a pregnant woman in Monrovia, liberia get to a hospital. The woman died hours later and it was not clear if she had Ebola virus.
Duncan, who was initially allowed to go home by another Dallas health facility with a prescription of antibiotics, had been in critical condition since his admission to the Presbyterian Hospital since September 28. The authorities are now closely monitoring Duncan’s family members, health care workers connected with his treatment, and about 40 individuals who are believed to have come in contact with him.
The monitoring will continue for 21 days, the maximum period of time it may take for Ebola symptoms to appear.
The US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said the Ebola virus can live in dead bodies and it can be transmitted after death if the body is cut, body fluids are splashed, or if the body is handled.
As such, only personnel trained in handling infected human remains, wearing protective gear, should touch or move Ebola-infected remains, the agency said, making it clear that an autopsy should be avoided.
Meanwhile, instituting the airport screenings, US officials said travellers coming from West African countries will be given questionnaires and have their temperatures taken at the designated US airports.