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UPDATED 12PM: Texas state health officials and Centers for Disease Control (CDC) officials confirmed this morning that the first case of Ebola has been identified in the United States.
A “critically ill” male patient is reportedly in quarantine in the Texas Health Presbyterian Hospital Dallas. The patient recently returned to the US from the West African country of Liberia.
CDC director Thomas Frieden says care of the patient is the priority at this time, but identifying who the man has been in contact with since his return is an important step.
“We received in our laboratory specimens today from the individual, tested them and they tested positive for Ebola. The State of Texas also operates a laboratory that found the same results,” Mr Frieden says.
He says it is still unknown how the man became infected but is confident the outbreak will be contained in the United States.
Officials at the CDC gave no indication that any other person was being treated for Ebola in the US at the time.
Since the beginning of the recent outbreak in West Africa, four Ebola-infected Americans working in the region have been flown to and treated in the US after displaying symptoms.
Since July 27, a dozen people in the US had been tested for Ebola, but each test showed negative for the virus.
EARLIER 10AM: The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has confirmed the first diagnosed case of Ebola in the US.
In a statement yesterday, Texas Health Presbyterian Hospital of Dallas officials said in an unnamed patient was being tested for Ebola and had been placed in "strict isolation" due to the patient's symptoms and recent travel history.
Over 3000 people have died from Ebola in West Africa since an outbreak was identified in Guinea six months ago.
Last week, the CDC warned that up to 1.4 million people in West Africa could be infected with Ebola by January 2015.
The CDC is due to hold a press conference at its Atlanta headquarters at 10.30am NZ time.
Nick Grant and Nathan Smith
Wed, 01 Oct 2014
Wed, 01 Oct 2014
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UPDATED: First Ebola case diagnosed in US
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