Ebola patient in Dallas turns critical; no new US cases

DALLAS: The first Ebola patient diagnosed in the United States slipped from serious to critical condition in Dallas, while a former Ebola patient was readmitted to a Massachusetts hospital. The case of Thomas Eric Duncan, who arrived in Dallas from Liberia two weeks ago, has heightened concerns that the worst Ebola epidemic on record could spread from West Africa where it began in March and has taken more than 3,400 lives. The hospital said Saturday that Duncan was in critical condition, a worsening from “serious condition” which he was said to be in during the previous two days. The hospital declined to elaborate. One of the Americans infected while working in the region, Dr. Richard Sacra, was in isolation in Worcester, Massachusetts, after being admitted Saturday for what appeared to be a respiratory infection. Sacra was treated successfully for Ebola in Nebraska and discharged on Sept. 25. He was stable and being watched for signs of a relapse of the disease at University of Massachusetts Memorial Medical Center, the Boston Globe. Dr. Thomas Frieden, director of the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in Atlanta, said hospitals nationwide have become more vigilant in checking incoming patients for potential risks, particularly among those traveling recently from West Africa. The CDC has narrowed the number of individuals in Dallas at greatest risk of infection from Duncan, identifying nine people who had direct contact with him. Another 40 were being monitored as potential contacts, out of a group of 114 people initially evaluated for exposure risks, though none from either group has shown symptoms, Frieden said. Ebola, which can cause fever, vomiting and diarrhea, spreads through contact with bodily fluids such as blood or saliva. A hospital patient in Sarasota, Florida, was being monitored and treated for possible symptoms in isolation as a precaution because he, too, had traveled recently to West Africa, Governor Rick Scott said on Saturday. But a patient admitted under similar circumstances to Howard University Hospital in Washington, D.C., after a recent trip to Nigeria was ruled out as an Ebola victim earlier in the day. Duncan, now being treated at Texas Health Presbyterian Hospital, was sent home after his first visit to the emergency room, despite telling a nurse there that he had just been to Liberia. Could reach France, UK by end-Oct. Scientists have used Ebola disease spread patterns and airline traffic data to predict a 75 percent chance the virus could be imported to France by Oct. 24, and a 50 percent chance it could hit Britain by that date. Those numbers are based on air traffic remaining at full capacity. Assuming an 80 percent reduction in travel to reflect that many airlines are halting flights to affected regions, France’s risk is still 25 percent, and Britain’s is 15 percent. “It’s really a lottery,” said Derek Gatherer of Britain’s Lancaster University, an expert in viruses who has been tracking the epidemic — the worst Ebola outbreak in history. France is among countries most likely to be hit next because the worst affected countries — Guinea, Sierra Leone and Liberia — include French speakers and have busy travel routes back, while Britain’s Heathrow airport is one of the world’s biggest travel hubs. France and Britain have each treated one national who was brought home with the disease and then cured. The scientists’ study suggests that more may bring it to Europe not knowing they are infected. “If this thing continues to rage on in West Africa and indeed gets worse, as some people have predicted, then it’s only a matter of time before one of these cases ends up on a plane to Europe,” said Gatherer. Belgium has a 40 percent chance of seeing the disease arrive on its territory, while Spain and Switzerland have lower risks of 14 percent each, according to the study first published in the journal PLoS Current Outbreaks and now being regularly updated athttp://www.mobs-lab.org/ebola.html. The World Health Organization (WHO) has not placed any restrictions on travel and has encouraged airlines to keep flying to the worst-hit countries.   Arab News