Dallas Ebola patient Thomas Eric Duncan is now in critical condition, according to information released late Saturday by Texas Health Presbyterian Hospital Dallas, the hospital where he is being treated for the deadly virus.
Duncan was admitted to the hospital Sept. 28 in critical condition, though he was later upgraded to being in serious but stable condition. His diagnosis with Ebola was confirmed by the Centers for Disease Control on Sept. 30.
Now, his symptoms appear to have taken a turn for the worse, with the hospital downgrading his condition to critical. Though hospital officials did not release any further information, Duncanās niece, Josephus Weeks, told NBC News that he had been put on a ventilator.
Duncan traveled from disease-ravaged Liberia to Dallas last month before he began showing symptoms of the disease that has killed some 3,400 people in West Africa.
Currently, there are about 50 people in the Dallas area being monitored for Ebola after having known or possible contact with Duncan. Nine of these people had direct contact with Duncan, including his four relatives, with whom he was staying before he was sent to the hospital. The other 40 are being monitored for Ebola symptoms, but their contact with Duncan is less certain, health officials said today. Thus far none have shown symptoms.
The virus that causes Ebola is not airborne and can only be spread through direct contact with the bodily fluids ā blood, sweat, vomit, feces, urine, saliva or semen ā of an infected person who is showing symptoms.
On Friday a hazardous-materials crew hauled out items from the Dallas apartment where Duncan was staying, placing them in industrial barrels for permanent disposal. That same day, Duncanās relatives and a family friend staying in the apartment were moved to a private residence where they are being carefully monitored.
Despite missteps, health officials remain confident
Despite reassurances from top health officials, the first Ebola diagnosis in the U.S. has raised concerns about whether the disease could spread in the U.S. and, if so, whether we have the ability to effectively deal with it.
Duncan arrived in Dallas on Sept. 20 and fell ill a few days later. After an initial visit to the emergency room at Texas Health Presbyterian Hospital, he was sent home. He returned to the hospital two days later, last Sunday, and has been kept in isolation ever since.
The hospitalās explanation about what they knew about his travel history has changed in the time since his diagnosis was revealed on Tuesday. Federal health officials have advised hospitals to take a travel history for patients with any Ebola-like symptoms.
When Duncanās diagnosis was first disclosed, the hospital said it wasnāt till he came back Sunday that they discovered he had been in West Africa. The hospital later acknowledged that Duncan had told a nurse his travel history on his first visit but said the information hadnāt been āfully communicatedā to the whole team.
On Thursday, the hospital elaborated by saying that a flaw in the electronic health records systems led to separate physician and nursing workflows and that the doctor hadnāt had access to Duncanās travel history. But in a new statement issued this weekend, the hospital admitted that the doctor who initially treated Duncan did have access to his travel history, after all.
Despite these missteps, federal health officials say they are confident they can effectively contain the virus. āI have no doubt that we will control this case of Ebola so that it does not spread widely in this country,ā said Dr. Thomas Frieden, Director of the CDC.