Dallas Ebola patient originally sent home with antibiotics: misdiagnosis exposed countless others to virus

October 2014 – DALLAS,TX – A Dallas hospital gave a man antibiotics and sent him home – only for him to be admitted two days later, it has been reported. Federal health officials later confirmed he has the first case of Ebola diagnosed in the US. The unidentified patient has been in isolation at Texas Health Presbyterian Hospital since Sunday, officials said. Dallas patient diagnosed with Ebola was initially dismissed with prescription for antibiotics,’ CBS DFW tweeted. The man recently traveled from Liberia to Dallas. Dr. Edward Goodman told Dallas News ‘it does not appear the man went to any other hospitals in the area,’ website said. Scott Gordon, a reporter for KXAS, tweeted ‘Hospital reviewing why patient wasn’t properly diagnosed on Friday when he was evaluated and sent home. Dismissed with antibiotics.’ Other precautions have been taken since the case of the Ebola virus was confirmed. Dallas Mayor Mike Rawlings told CBS DFW ‘We have isolated 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 and we’re going about. We kind of – our protocol, how to do that – we’ve created an emergency center at the Dallas City Hall and they’re going to go through those protocols right now, so we’re taking all precautions to make sure everybody’s safe.’

‘First and foremost, we gotta have our thoughts and prayers for this man, who is very sick and hopefully he’ll get well,’ Rawlings continued. But we’re gonna sure everybody else is safe at the same time.’ Health authorities have begun tracking down family and friends who may have had close contact with the patient and could be at risk for becoming ill. But officials said there are no other suspected cases in Texas. At the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Dr. Tom Frieden said the patient left Liberia on Sept. 19, arrived the next day to visit family and started feeling ill four or five days later. He said it was not clear how the person became infected. Frieden said there was no risk to anyone on the airplane because the patient had no symptoms at the time of the flight. –Daily Mail