Thomas Eric Duncan, a Liberian man who became the first person to test positive for Ebola on U.S. soil, has died, according to multiple news sources citing a statement from Texas Health Presbyterian Hospital in Dallas.
Reuters, NBC News, and ABC News are all confirming the passing of Duncan:
NBC News has also published the statement from the Dallas hospital confirming his death:
The U.S. Center for Disease Control confirmed that Duncan was the first person to test positive for Ebola in the United States on September 30, having traveled to Dallas to visit family from Monrovia, Liberia. The government of Liberia had issued a warning to Duncan that he would be prosecuted upon recovering from the disease, as he had claimed during screenings before leaving the country that he had not come into contact with anyone known to have been infected with the Ebola virus. Coworkers of Duncan’s speaking to African media have claimed that Duncan knew that he had come into contact with a woman suffering from Ebola, who died shortly after Duncan helped her take a taxi to and from a hospital who refused to treat her.
Duncan’s condition was reported as critical for most of the week, though reports surfaced yesterday evening that his condition had degraded to a point where Duncan was placed on a dialysis machine. As a last hope, Duncan had also been given a dosage of an experimental Ebola drug.