CDC Confirms Texas Patient is First Case of Ebola Diagnosed in the United States

A patient in Dallas, Texas has been confirmed by the U.S. Center for Disease Control as the first case of Ebola diagnosed on American soil, reports CNBC.

Texas Health Presbyterian Hospital had confirmed earlier this week that they had isolated a patient in Dallas who had symptoms and travel history that suggested they could have been exposed to the Ebola virus in a statement, according to local Fox affiliate KDFW. They did not specify the gender of the patient or the specifics of that travel history, but confirmed that federal officials from the CDC were called in, and that results of testing would be expected around 3 PM Central Time on Tuesday. 

CNBC confirms that the CDC has found the patient to test positive for the Ebola virus. This is the first case of the virus that has been diagnosed on U.S. soil, though American citizens who were diagnosed with the virus in west Africa have returned for medical attention to the continental United States and recovered.

ABC affiliate WFAA adds that the hospital has announced that the patient is being held in “strict isolation” and that officials believe there is little potential for an outbreak, given the advanced technology available on U.S. soil and the medical infrastructure already in place in a city like Dallas.

The news of an Ebola patient diagnosed on American soil for the first time follows tragic news from the World Health Organization that the rate at which individuals are contracting Ebola in west Africa appears to be accelerating. In Liberia, the number of deaths attributable to Ebola have doubled in one month, as only 18% of Ebola patients are believed to be under the supervision of medical personnel, while many of the remaining percentage are unaccounted for. According to the latest World Health Organization numbers, as of September 14, 2,630 people have died from the disease, while 5,347 cases have been confirmed. Most experts consider this number a significantly low estimate, as the lack of medical personnel and infrastructure necessary to diagnose many of the cases has left many patients to die in their own homes or those of others, far from where officials can add them to the official count.