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.
Medical officials said the patient would not be given the experimental treatment ZMapp because there is none of it left.
The man recently traveled from Liberia to Dallas.
Officials have not disclosed his nationality but a statement from the city of Dallas said he was visiting relatives in the US.
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 iso- [...] 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.

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