With the death of Thomas Eric Duncan, the first person to be diagnosed with Ebola on American soil, David Millward looks at how authorities are trying to halt the spread of Ebola in the United States
America's first fatality from Ebola has intensified determination to stop the spread of the virus in Texas, where Thomas Eric Duncan was diagnosed - and in West Africa, where he was infected.
Duncan, a Liberian, had been in isolation at the Texas Health Presbyterian Hospital in Dallas since September 28.
He had been receiving brincidofovir, an experimental drug which had been given emergency approval by the Food and Drug Administration. But he had been initially discharged by a hospital after complaining of a fever, only to return days later.
In Texas the key task will be to contain the virus by tracking people who had been in contact with Duncan.
Dr David Lakey, the Texas Department of Health and Human Services commissioner, said the coming week would be critical.
“We’re monitoring with extreme vigilance,” he said. “If a contact develops symptoms, we will tell you.”
Dr Lakey’s officials are monitoring 48 potential contacts to see if they have displayed signs of the disease.
Some hospitals in the United States have already started running Ebola drills to ensure they can handle a patient with the disease without allowing the virus to spread.
The United States is also stepping up screening of airline passengers arriving at the country’s airports from west African countries where the Ebola outbreak has been at its most virulent. Passengers will be screened at five of the country’s major airports: JFK in New York, Washington Dulles, Newark, Chicago O’Hare and Hartsfield-Jackson, Atlanta.
Passengers from three countries - Liberia, Sierra Leone and Guinea - will be screened.
Another challenge is to ensure the disease does not spread as his body is dealt with.
“The body remains infectious for up to 72 hours after the patient has expired,” said Dr Frank Glover director of the Urology Institute and Continence Centre in Georgia.
He said in Liberia bodies have been cremated rather than embalmed or buried to reduce the risk of infection spreading to health workers.
But he warned that containing the disease in Liberia was an almost impossible task.
“The Liberian health system has been decimated by the war.
“There are only 200 beds to treat ebola patients and 90 per cent are being turned away because there are no beds to treat them.
“We are not able to build treatment centres fast enough to keep up with the virus.”
John Kerry, the American Secretary of State, appealed to countries to step up their efforts to contain the disease.
Standing alongside Philip Hammond, the Foreign Secretary, Mr Kerry said more equipment and personnel were needed straight away.
He also pleaded with airlines not to stop flights to West Africa, to ensure doctors and medical staff could be flown in to bolster the drive to prevent the crisis worsening.
Meanwhile the Pentagon said that up to 4,000 US troops will be sent to the region to control the outbreak.
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