Texas governor Rick Perry reveals children from FOUR different schools have been exposed and 18 Americans could be infected

  • Five students attended four different Dallas schools this week after possibly being in close contact with the Ebola patient over the weekend
  • The Ebola patient was named today as Thomas Eric Duncan, who had traveled to the U.S. from Liberia on September 20 to visit family
  • Mr Duncan, a Liberian national, quarantined at Texas Health Presbyterian Hospital since Sunday in a 'serious but stable condition' 
  • The children who came in contact with Mr Duncan are showing no symptoms and are now being monitored at home 
  • The schools are on high alert with additional health and custodial staff as an added precaution
  • Other children were taken out of one Dallas school by concerned parents 
  • Mr Duncan arrived in U.S. on September 20 - after flying from Liberia via Brussels in Belgium - but did not develop symptoms until September 24
  • He attended Texas Health Presbyterian on September 26 - but was dismissed with antibiotics and 'not asked details about his travel history'
  • Mr Duncan may have contracted Ebola while helping carrying his landlord's seriously ill daughter to hospital in Liberia. She died the next day 

Schoolchildren in Texas may be at risk from Ebola today after five children who attend four different Dallas schools came in close contact with the first patient diagnosed with the deadly virus on U.S. soil.

Officials said on Wednesday that the students were in school this week after possibly being in contact with the patient over the weekend when he had become contagious with the deadly virus.

The Ebola patient was named today as Thomas Eric Duncan, a Liberian national in his mid-forties, who had traveled to the U.S. from Liberia on September 20 to visit his family.

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Thomas Eric Duncan, a Liberian national who had traveled to the U.S. from Liberia on September 20 to visit family, has been quarantined at a Dallas hospital for Ebola 

Thomas Eric Duncan, a Liberian national who had traveled to the U.S. from Liberia on September 20 to visit family, has been quarantined at a Dallas hospital for Ebola 

A security patrol car cruises the parking lot outside of Building Six at the Ivy Apartments where  a Liberia man, who was infected with the deadly Ebola virus was staying with family in North Dallas, Texas before being hospitalized. He was staying at Apartment 614 (top center)

A security patrol car cruises the parking lot outside of Building Six at the Ivy Apartments where a Liberia man, who was infected with the deadly Ebola virus was staying with family in North Dallas, Texas before being hospitalized. He was staying at Apartment 614 (top center)

His sister Mai Wureh said her sick brother told officials the first time he went to Texas Health Presbyterian Hospital on September 26 that he was visiting from a West African country in the so-called 'Ebola hot zone' - but was sent home with antibiotics, a critically-missed opportunity to prevent others being exposed to the disease.

Dallas Independent School District Superintendent Mike Miles said on Wednesday that the children who came in contact with Mr Duncan are showing no symptoms and are now being monitored at home. 

As an added precaution, Miles says additional health and custodial staff will be at the high, middle and two elementary schools that the students attend.

The Star-Telegram reported that children from L.L. Hotchkiss Elementary School were taken out of school by concerned parents. 

Mr Duncan's family are among up to 18 people being monitored after exposure to the man along with the ambulance crew who transported him to hospital.

As health officials scrambled to contain the infection, Texas Governor Rick Perry said at a hospital press conference on Wednesday that he had 'full confidence' in Texas medical teams when it came to the safety and welfare of citizens, adding that only those who came in close contact with the patient when he was contagious were at risk.

Mr Duncan's sister, Mai Wureh, confirmed on Wednesday that her brother had been hospitalized with Ebola 

Mr Duncan's sister, Mai Wureh, confirmed on Wednesday that her brother had been hospitalized with Ebola 

Dr Mark Lester also confirmed that a nurse asked Mr Duncan on his first visit whether he had been in an area affected by the Ebola outbreak that has killed thousands in West Africa but that the 'information was not fully communicated throughout the whole team'.

Mr Duncan underwent basic blood tests but not an Ebola screening.

The patient is now in a 'serious but stable condition' and has been quarantined since Sunday - although he was in the U.S. for almost a week before being isolated.

He is 'awake, talking and asking for food', doctors said today.

According to The New York Times, Mr Duncan worked moving cargo for Fedex in the Liberian capital Monrovia but had recently quit his job and gotten a visa to come to the U.S. where his son reportedly lives. 

The Times also revealed that Mr Duncan may have contracted Ebola while helping carry his landlord's seriously ill, pregnant daughter to hospital.

The woman, named by The Times as 19-year-old Marthalene Williams was taken to a hospital on September 15, but turned away because there was no room to treat her. She died the following day.

The landlord's son and three neighbors who came in contact with the woman also died soon afterwards.

The Liberian government said on Wednesday that Mr Duncan showed no signs of fever or symptoms of the virus when he left Liberia for the United States via Brussels on September 19.

The patient showed no symptoms of the disease during his journey - which also included a stop en route in Brussels, Belgium. 

Hundreds of passengers were exposed to Mr Duncan after it was revealed today that the traveler took at least three flights to get from Liberia to Dallas - because there is no direct flight from Belgium to Texas. 

The other flight that Mr Duncan boarded is currently unknown and no details are being released.

United Airlines has said it thinks Mr Duncan flew from Brussels to Washington Dulles on Flight 951 before he traveled from Washington Dulles to Dallas Fort-Worth on Flight 822. 

Belgium’s health ministry said U.S. experts had advised Brussels that the man was not displaying Ebola symptoms and so would not have been in a position to pass on the virus. A spokesman said that Belgium therefore did not need to trace fellow passengers or crew of Brussel Airlines, one of a very few operators still flying to Guinea, Liberia and Sierra Leone.

Mr Duncan began to develop symptoms of Ebola on September 24, four days after arriving in the U.S.

He sought medical care on September 26 at Texas Presbyterian Hospital - where he was sent home.

Mr Duncan, from Monrovia, is the first person to develop symptoms of Ebola in the U.S. He is being treated in isolation at a Texas hospital 

Mr Duncan, from Monrovia, is the first person to develop symptoms of Ebola in the U.S. He is being treated in isolation at a Texas hospital 

Texas Governor Rick Perry sought to reassure citizens on Wednesday as it was revealed that five children who came in close contact with the Ebola patient had attended four different Dallas schools this week

Texas Governor Rick Perry sought to reassure citizens on Wednesday as it was revealed that five children who came in close contact with the Ebola patient had attended four different Dallas schools this week

Mr Duncan was sent home from Texas Presbyterian Hospital last week after presenting with Ebola symptoms. A doctor confirmed on Wednesday that a nurse asked Mr Duncan on his first visit whether he had been in an area affected by the Ebola outbreak but that the 'information was not fully communicated to the whole team'

Mr Duncan was sent home from Texas Presbyterian Hospital last week after presenting with Ebola symptoms. A doctor confirmed on Wednesday that a nurse asked Mr Duncan on his first visit whether he had been in an area affected by the Ebola outbreak but that the 'information was not fully communicated to the whole team'

On September 28, Mr Duncan was rushed to hospital in an ambulance while vomiting and was quarantined.

TIMELINE OF EBOLA DIAGNOSIS

  • September 19 - Thomas Eric Duncan boards flight in Liberia
  • September 20 - He lands in Dallas
  • September 24 - Mr Duncan starts to develop symptoms
  • September 26 - He goes to hospital but is sent home with antibiotics
  • September 28 - Placed in isolation in Dallas hospital
  • September 30 - Man's blood tests positive for Ebola 

It raised the frightening prospect that he was mixing freely with others for a full four days while showing symptoms of the virus - the time when Ebola is most contagious.

A team of CDC 'disease detectives' arrived in Dallas on Wednesday and were going door-to-door to find out who may have come in contact with the man while he was contagious with Ebola.

Residents living in the same apartment block that is 'ground zero' for the Ebola outbreak in Dallas today spoke of their fears.

Despite reassurances from health chiefs that the deadly virus has been contained many residents are fearful that they might have been infected.

Sources within the Dallas Fire Department said the man carrying the Ebola virus was picked up by an ambulance from the Ivy Apartment complex in North Dallas.

Mother-of-three, Elizabeth Rayo, watched the victim being taken out of his flat and pushed on a gurney into the back of an ambulance.

Health workers in protective gear remove the body of a woman suspected to have died from the Ebola virus, near the area of Freeport in Monrovia, Liberia on Wednesday. Mr Duncan reportedly helped carry his landlord's gravely-ill daughter to hospital before boarding a plane to the U.S. 

Health workers in protective gear remove the body of a woman suspected to have died from the Ebola virus, near the area of Freeport in Monrovia, Liberia on Wednesday. Mr Duncan reportedly helped carry his landlord's gravely-ill daughter to hospital before boarding a plane to the U.S. 

'I could not see his face, but just saw the ambulance outside and he was being loaded in,' she told Mail Online. 'I know he lives in the same block as me, but I do not know his name.'

AMBULANCE CREW WHO TRANSPORTED EBOLA PATIENT FACE NERVOUS WAIT IN ISOLATION 

Several residents spoken to by MailOnline were unaware that Ebola victim lived in the apartment complex which is home to more than 400 people.

Residents pay $800 a month for a two-bedroom apartment.

Other local residents were concerned that the complex had not been placed into quarantine. Mother Toni Gomez, who lives opposite the complex, said: 'Yes, I am scared. Who wants to live next to somewhere where there is such a horrible virus? I think the place should at least be sealed off and no one allowed to go in and out.'

Ms Gomez, who was clutching her one-year-old daughter Demaruia, added: 'I’m really concerned because I have to live here with my family.' 

Dallas County Health Department was forced to deny that a second male patient was being closely monitored today after media reports.

Ms Rayo said the residents had no idea at the time that the victim had the highly-contagious disease. She did not see any health officials at the complex, which is mostly home to newly, arrived immigrants from Africa and India.

'No one said anything to us. I only found out that this was the place when the media turned up,' she said.

The 29-year-old, who has lived at the Ivy Apartments for two years, said: 'Of course I am very worried. I have three children. If the man had Ebola we should have been told. We should have been allowed to leave.'

There was no sign of any CDC activity at the complex which is comprised of apartments in two-story blocks set around a large car park. The managers of the apartment complex evicted media saying it was private property.

A manager, who identified herself as Sally, shouted at media to leave claiming she has no idea the Ebola victim lived within the complex.

Two police cars arrived to escort media from the premises while traffic cones were placed across the entrance.

Several residents spoken to by MailOnline were unaware that Ebola victim lived in the apartment complex which is home to more than 400 people.

Residents pay $800 a month for a two-bedroom apartment.

Other local residents were concerned that the complex had not been placed into quarantine. Mother Toni Gomez, who lives opposite the complex, said: 'Yes, I am scared. Who wants to live next to somewhere where there is such a horrible virus? I think the place should at least be sealed off and no one allowed to go in and out.'

Ms Gomez, who was clutching her one-year-old daughter Demaruia, added: 'I’m really concerned because I have to live here with my family.' 

During the afternoon a man in his 20s arrived at the apartment holding what appeared to be a roll of black garbage bags and went in to the house, suggesting the family are disposing of items which may have been infected.

Two women in their 20s also visited the apartment for a short while.

At one point a young boy aged around four could be seen peering through the drawn blinds of the apartment that looked out onto the parking lot.

Dallas County Health Department was forced to deny that a second male patient was being closely monitored today after media reports.

The ambulance which carried Thomas Eric Duncan suffering from Ebola has been cordoned off at Texas Health Presbyterian Hospital in an effort to prevent the spread of Ebola following the first diagnosis on U.S. soil

The ambulance which carried Thomas Eric Duncan suffering from Ebola has been cordoned off at Texas Health Presbyterian Hospital in an effort to prevent the spread of Ebola following the first diagnosis on U.S. soil

An epidemic of the Ebola virus (seen here in a file photo) has killed more than 3,000 people in West Africa

An epidemic of the Ebola virus (seen here in a file photo) has killed more than 3,000 people in West Africa

The ambulance crew who transported Mr Duncan all tested negative for Ebola on Wednesday but have been placed in 'reverse isolation' at their homes for the next 21 days as a precaution.

Mr Duncan has been treated in quarantine since Sunday at Texas Health Presbyterian Hospital 

Mr Duncan has been treated in quarantine since Sunday at Texas Health Presbyterian Hospital 

Ambulance 37 which transported him to the hospital has been cordoned off. 

There are concerns after it was used to move patients for two days after the Ebola patient but hospital officials have reassured citizens that it was properly sterilized.

The man arrived in the U.S. on September 20 from the West African region, where the disease has been rapidly spreading since its outbreak last December.

While en route to the U.S., Mr Duncan also traveled through Brussels in Belgium, the Liberian Ministry of Information confirmed today. 

There is believed to be no risk to anyone who traveled on the same flight from Liberia because he did not have any symptoms at the time. The virus is not contagious until symptoms develop and is then transmitted via bodily fluids.

Health officials are investigating the misdiagnosis and why the patient's isolation was delayed despite his symptoms and his travel history.

A source told CNN that no one had asked Mr Duncan if he had recently traveled.

The CDC recommends that all medical facilities ask patients who present with Ebola symptoms about countries they have visited. 

The patient was admitted to Texas Health Presbyterian Hospital Dallas and isolated on September 28. according to Centers for Disease Control Director Tom Frieden.

Mr Duncan is reportedly not being treated with the experimental serum ZMapp - because there is none left. 

Dr Frieden said there was no risk to anyone on the airplane because the patient had no symptoms at the time of the flight.

It is not clear how the patient became infected.

'From the information that we have now, it does not appear the individual was involved in the response to Ebola, but that's something we'll investigate more,' he said on Tuesday.

Asked how many people the patient may have had close contact with, the CDC Director said: 'I think a handful is the right characterization.'

Ebola is not contagious until symptoms begin, and it takes close contact with bodily fluids to spread

Ebola is not contagious until symptoms begin, and it takes close contact with bodily fluids to spread

Mr Duncan is not believed to have gone to any other hospitals in the area.

President Obama is aware of the patient's Ebola diagnosis and the public health investigation, the White House said.

Dr Frieden said he believed the case also marked the first time this strain of Ebola has been diagnosed outside of West Africa.

Mr Duncan is being kept in isolation and the hospital is following Centers for Disease Control recommendations to keep doctors, staff and patients safe.

Dr Edward Goodman, epidemiologist for Texas Health Presbyterian, said the hospital had a plan for handling Ebola should a suspected case emerge and was 'well prepared' to provide care.

WHAT IS THE EBOLA VIRUS? 

  • The CDC says 'Ebola was first discovered in 1976 near the Ebola River in what is now the Democratic Republic of Congo'
  • Four types of Ebola can make people sick, the agency says
  • Ebola symptoms can include fever, muscle pain, vomiting and bleeding, and can appear as long as 21 days after exposure to the virus
  • Ebola is not contagious until symptoms begin, and it takes close contact with bodily fluids to spread
  • Liberia is one of the three hardest-hit countries in the epidemic, along with Sierra Leone and Guinea
  • The epidemic has killed more than 3,000 people in West Africa
  • People boarding planes in the outbreak zone are checked for fever, but that does not guarantee that an infected person won't get through

Source: cdc.gov/Includes AP text

Dallas Mayor Mike Rawlings told CBS DFW: 'We have quarantined both [the ambulance crew that took the patient to the hospital] and the unit itself to make sure that nothing was there that can be spread.' 

He added: 'First and foremost, we gotta have our thoughts and prayers for this man, who is very sick and hopefully he'll get well. But we're gonna sure everybody else is safe at the same time.'

The patient's symptoms and recent travel indicated a case of Ebola.

Specimens from the patient were tested by a state lab and confirmed by a separate test by the Centers for Disease Control, said Carrie Williams, spokeswoman for the Texas Department of State Health Services.

The hospital is reviewing why Mr Duncan was initially sent home with antibiotics.

Zachary Thompson, director of Dallas County Health & Human Services, said health officials in North Texas are well equipped to care for the patient.

'This is not Africa,' he told Dallas station WFAA. 'We have a great infrastructure to deal with an outbreak.'

Twelve other people in the U.S. have been tested for Ebola since July 27, according to the CDC. All of those tests were negative.

Four U.S. aid workers who became infected while volunteering in West Africa have been treated in special isolation facilities in hospitals in Atlanta and Nebraska.

A U.S. doctor exposed to the virus in Sierra Leone is under observation in a similar facility at the National Institutes of Health.

The U.S. has only four such isolation units. But asked whether Mr Duncan would be moved to one of those specialty facilities, Dr Frieden said there was no need and virtually any hospital can provide the proper care and infection control.

One of the health workers who contracted Ebola, Samaritan's Purse Dr Kent Brantly, testified to the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions committee about prevention methods earlier this month, The National Journal reported.

'Many have used the analogy of a fire burning out of control to describe this unprecedented Ebola outbreak,' Brantly said.

'Indeed it is a fire - it is a fire straight from the pit of hell. We cannot fool ourselves into thinking that the vast moat of the Atlantic Ocean will protect us from the flames of this fire.

'Instead, we must mobilize the resources... to keep entire nations from being reduced to ashes.'

Just one day before the Dallas Ebola case was publicly confirmed, Bill Gates said at a breakfast meeting that countries should get ready to handle a possible outbreak of the deadly virus as people from Liberia, Sierra Leone and Guinea move across borders.

'Because of that uncertainty, I am not going to hazard a guess,' Gates said when asked whether he thinks the massive ramping up of international aid over the past few weeks is enough.

'We are sorry to learn of the confirmed case of Ebola in Dallas,' Samaritan's Purse president Bruce Johnson said in a statement on Tuesday.

'This person did exactly the right thing – report to a hospital.'

He added: 'I am grateful for what we have available in the U.S. We have seen the success and survival rate of Americans cared for in a well-equipped medical center. We need to help share this with the people of West Africa.

'We will be praying for the survival of this patient and that doctors will continue to learn at a quickened pace what will help fight this epidemic across West Africa.'

Ebola symptoms can include fever, muscle pain, vomiting and bleeding, and can appear as long as 21 days after exposure to the virus.

Ebola is not contagious until symptoms begin, and it takes close contact with bodily fluids to spread.

The New York Times reported traveling medical workers are treated with suspicion, and that they must also deal with 'a belief that simply saying "Ebola" aloud makes the disease appear'.

Health officials use two primary guidelines when deciding whether to test a person for the virus - whether that person has traveled to West Africa and whether he or she has been near friends or relatives or other people who have been exposed to the virus, said CDC spokesman Jason McDonald.

Since the summer months, U.S. health officials have been preparing for the possibility that an individual traveler could unknowingly arrive with the infection. Health authorities have advised hospitals on how to prevent the virus from spreading within their facilities.

People boarding planes in the outbreak zone are checked for fever, but that does not guarantee that an infected person won't get through. Liberia is one of the three hardest-hit countries in the epidemic, along with Sierra Leone and Guinea.

The epidemic has killed more than 3,000 people in West Africa.