WASHINGTON: With no new Ebola cases in five days, US authorities were cautious but hopeful Monday that the virus has been contained in the United States after a flawed response revealed shortcomings in the system.
The fiancee of a Liberian man who died of Ebola earlier this month in Dallas, Texas was among nearly 50 people who emerged from three weeks of quarantine without any signs of illness from exposure to the virus that has killed more than 4,500 in West Africa since the beginning of this year.
About 100 more people, most of them health care workers, are being tracked in Texas after coming in contact with the first patient diagnosed in the United States in late September.
Still, officials said it was reassuring that no new infections had emerged in recent days.
"We are breathing a little bit easier, but we are still holding our breath," said Dallas Mayor Mike Rawlings.
Those who are no longer in danger include a group of health care workers and community members who may have had contact with the Liberian man, Thomas Eric Duncan, between September 24 when he began showing symptoms and September 28 when he was isolated in a Dallas hospital.
"This is a crucial milestone for the city of Dallas and for concerned persons across the United States," said Mark Rupp, an infectious disease specialist at Nebraska Medical Center, which has treated two US Ebola patients after they were infected in Liberia this year.
"I hope this reinforces the message that the public is safe and that Ebola is not very infectious in its early stages."
Comments
Comments are closed.