2014 Ebola virus cases in the United States

fever, abdominal pain for two days, a headache, and decreased urination. He reported to not have vomiting, diarrhea, or nausea at the time. The ER nurse had asked about his travel history and recorded he had come from Liberia, however, this information was not relayed to the doctor by the hospital's medical record system. Hospital officials also said that Duncan had been asked if he had been around anyone who had been sick, and said Duncan told them he hadn't. He was diagnosed with a "low-grade, common viral disease" and was sent home with antibiotics. Duncan began vomiting on September 28, 2014, and was transported the same day to the same emergency room by ambulance. His Ebola diagnosis was confirmed during a CDC news conference on September 30, 2014.
On October 1, 2014, Texas Governor Rick Perry announced at a news conference that the Liberian man had contact with up to 18 people in Dallas, including several school children, who are being monitored at home. Up to 80-100 people may have had contact with people who had contact with Duncan after he showed symptoms. Health officials later monitored 50 low-risk contacts, and 10 high-risk contacts. The 10 high risk contacts are Duncan's close family members and three ambulance workers who took him to the hospital.
Duncan is currently being treated at Texas Health Presbyterian Hospital in Dallas. Liberian President Ellen Johnson Sirleaf told Canadian Broadcasting Corporation that she was angry with Duncan for what he had done, especially given how much the United States was doing to help tackle the crisis:
In the United States, the US government, in statements through social media, told American citizens not to worry about an epidemic of Ebola in the United States, stating that the risk of such an epidemic was very low. However, on Twitter on September 30, over 50,000 tweets in response to the Ebola case were posted in just one hour.
Jessica Vaughan, director of policy studies for the Center for Immigration Studies criticized the visa issuance practice by the United States Department of State, arguing that Duncan should not have been granted a visitors' visa because being single, unemployed, Liberian, having lived outside of Liberia, and having a sister living in the U.S. each should have been counted as reasons for him to overstay his visa. Noting that the number of Liberians granted visas had grown from 1300 to 3500 in four years, she called on the Obama administration to bar entry to all travelers who had been in Liberia, Sierra Leone, and Guinea within 90 days.
History
Researchers believe that the 2014 Ebola virus epidemic began on December 2, 2013, when a 2-year-old boy in the village of Meliandou, Guéckédou, in Guinea, a country in West Africa, fell ill that day, and died four days later. It is believed the child may have contracted the virus through contact with a fruit bat. His sister fell ill next, followed by his mother and grandmother. It is believed the Ebola virus was then spread to the villages of Dandou Pombo and Dawa, both in Guéckédou, by the midwife who attended them. From Dawa village, the virus spread to Guéckédou Baladou District and Guéckédou Farako District, and on to Macenta and Kissidougou.
The virus then spread to Sierra Leone when 14 mourners at a traditional healer's funeral became infected. It is believed the healer had been to Guinea, possibly to treat the family of the index case. The funeral was in Koindu, a diamond-mining town across the border from Guéckédou in Guinea. The virus then spread to Liberia, Nigeria, and Senegal. Of all the countries, Liberia has experienced the most cases and the highest death rate.

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