Thomas Eric Duncan, a Liberian, is the first person diagnosed with Ebola
on U.S. soil. Did
he arrive knowing he wasinfected hoping to receive life-
saving
treatment? If so, he has gotten his wish.
Ex-Employer
says Ebola Carrier Knew He Had Virus before Fleeing to U.S. (Daily Observer,
Liberia)
"Four days
before he boarded a plane bound for the United States, Duncan helped carry his
landlord's pregnant daughter, who was convulsing, to a clinic for treatment. She
died the following day. … At his former workplace as a driver with SafeWay Cargo (a licensed agent for FedEx) on Broad Street
in central Monrovia, Mr. Duncan was reportedly involved in a car accident. Workers
there speculate that having acquired a U.S. visa, he didn't care about the
consequences and never returned. … A source at FedEx in Monrovia said Duncan
apparently knew he was suffering from the disease, and that his best chance of
survival was to reach America, a position that a family source denied."
Volunteer [Ebola] contact tracers from the 72nd St. Community
in Paynesville, where Liberian Thomas Eric Duncan lives, have begun an
awareness campaign to discover the places and people he may have come into
contact with. Duncan, who is now in the United States, is the first person to
be diagnosed with Ebola in the United States. The Paynesville community has
been in shock since learning that he is suffering from the Ebola virus.
Duncan is currently quarantined in "serious but stable
condition" at the Texas Health Presbyterian Hospital. Several residents of
the Ivy Apartment Complex in Dallas where Duncan had been staying, which is
home to more than 400 people, say they were unaware that Duncan was residing
there.
In Monrovia, radio reports suggest that once Duncan is out
of danger, he could face prosecution. Liberians are split over what should
happen to Ebola-infected Liberians once they travel to another country. Should they
face justice afterwards? How did they become infected?
Information reaching the Observer
suggests that it was an act of compassion that led Mr. Duncan to contract the virus.
Four days before he boarded a plane bound for the United States, Duncan helped
carry his landlord's pregnant daughter, who was convulsing, to a clinic for
treatment. Nathalene Williams, 19, whom Duncan had
assisted, had been turned away from three hospitals and a clinic. She died the
following day.
Nathaline's brother and aunt died
soon later.
The question many Liberians are asking is: Why did Duncan
embark on his trip? Information Minister Lewis Brown told journalists that
Duncan didn't exhibit symptoms up to September 19, the day of his departure on
a Brussels Airlines flight.
According to sources at the Ministry of Health and Social
Welfare, current policy says that only those displaying symptoms of Ebola are
barred from flying out of Liberia.
As it has been announced, the Ebola virus can remain unnoticed
in an infected person for from two to 21 days, which raises serious concerns about
whether Duncan might have interacted with friends in Monrovia.
Posted By Worldmeets.US
At his former workplace as a driver with SafeWay
Cargo (a licensed agent for FedEx) on Broad Street in central Monrovia, Mr.
Duncan was reportedly involved in a car accident, which he claimed was caused
by a punctured tire. Workers there speculate that having acquired an American
visa, he didn't care about the consequences and never returned to work after
the accident.
"I was surprised to hear that he had arrived in the
United States," said a former co-worker who spoke to the Observer.
A source at FedEx in Monrovia said Duncan apparently knew he
was suffering from the disease, and that his best chance of survival was to
reach the United States, a position that a family source denied when we sought
confirmation.
At a visit to his residence in the 72nd St. Community
yesterday, many people expressed shock that Duncan had been diagnosed with the
disease, and wished him a speedy recovery. There were still others,
particularly female friends, who due to his association with them, worried
about Duncan's situation.
Duncan's family members in the United States are among up to
18 people being monitored after being exposed to the man, along with the
ambulance crew who transported him to the hospital.
While U.S. health officials scrambled to contain the
infection, Texas Governor Rick Perry said on Wednesday that he had "full
confidence" in the state's medical teams when it comes to the safety and
welfare of citizens, adding that only those who came in close contact with the
patient while he was contagious were at risk.
