From becoming a global problem
The effort to contain West Africa's Ebola epidemic and prevent it from becoming a global problem was only as strong as the weakest link in the international community's chain of health precautions. To Dallas' horror and embarrassment, one of those weak links surfaced here.
Complaining of fever and discomfort, Thomas Eric Duncan informed a nurse screener at Texas Health Presbyterian Hospital on Sept. 24 that he had arrived from Liberia four days earlier. What Duncan didn't tell the nurse — or airport officials in Liberia — was that just before leaving his country, he had aided a pregnant woman who later died of Ebola.
Liberia's connection with Ebola is well-known in the health community and just about everywhere else; the virus has killed more than 1,800 people out of nearly 3,500 cases in West Africa. That accounts for more than half of all known cases from this epidemic.
The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in Atlanta has warned medical facilities around the country to be on high alert for travelers from West Africa. The mere mention of Duncan's nationality, recent travel history and health complaints should have set off major alarms at Presbyterian.