Marjorie Owens

WFAA-TV, Dallas-Fort Worth

DALLAS — Health officials are closely monitoring a possible second Ebola patient who had close contact with the first person to be diagnosed in the U.S., the director of Dallas County's health department said Wednesday.

All who have been in close contact with the man officially diagnosed are being monitored as a precaution, Zachary Thompson, director of Dallas County Health and Human Services, said in a morning interview with WFAA-TV, Dallas-Fort Worth.

"Let me be real frank to the Dallas County residents: The fact that we have one confirmed case, there may be another case that is a close associate with this particular patient," he said. "So this is real. There should be a concern, but it's contained to the specific family members and close friends at this moment."

The director continued to assure residents that the public isn't at risk because health officials have the virus contained.

On Tuesday, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention confirmed a patient at Texas Health Presbyterian Hospital Dallas was the first person to be diagnosed in the United States with the Ebola virus.

Thomas Eric Duncan had left Liberia on Sept. 19 and arrived in Dallas the following day.

On Sept. 26, he sought treatment at the hospital after becoming ill but was sent back to the northeast Dallas apartment complex where he was staying with a prescription for antibiotics. Duncan's sister, Mai Wureh, said he notified health-care workers that he was visiting from Liberia when they asked for his Social Security number and he told them he didn't have one.

Two days later, he was admitted to the hospital with more critical symptoms, after requiring an ambulance ride.

Duncan, whose condition was upgraded to serious from critical Wednesday, was in contact with at least five children from four schools before he was hospitalized, said Superintendent Mike Miles of Dallas Independent Schools. Each of those children have been kept home from school and are under precautionary monitoring.

"They are consulting with the county on any additional action that may need to be taken during the course of investigation," district spokesman Jon Dahlander said in a statement. "This is part of routine emergency operations during a health incident in the county. This is same protocol taken during things like flu and tuberculosis cases."

More than a half a dozen CDC employees arrived in Dallas after news of the diagnosis broke. The CDC and Dallas County are working together in what they call a contact investigation.

Anyone who had contact with the patient, including emergency room staff, will be under health officials' observation for 21 days. If any of those being monitored show symptoms, they'll be placed in isolation.

The three paramedics who transported the patient in Dallas are temporarily off duty and among those under observation. They have tested negative for the virus and are being restricted to their homes.

Stanley Gaye, president of the Liberian Community Association of Dallas-Fort Worth, said the 10,000-strong Liberian population in North Texas is skeptical of the CDC's assurances because Ebola has ravaged their country.

"We've been telling people to try to stay away from social gatherings," Gaye said at a community meeting Tuesday. Large get-togethers are a prominent part of Liberian culture.

Ebola symptoms can include fever, muscle pain, vomiting and bleeding and can appear as long as 21 days after exposure to the virus. The disease is not contagious until symptoms begin, and it takes close contact with bodily fluids to spread.

"We don't want to get a panic going," said Roseline Sayon, the association's vice president. "We embrace those people who are coming forward. Don't let the stigma keep you from getting tested."

Texas Health Director David Lakey, accompanied by Gov. Rick Perry, said the state has been preparing for the possibility of the virus landing here since August.

"This is a very sophisticated city, a very sophisticated hospital, ... and the chances of it being spread are very, very scarce," Lakey said.

Contributing: Jenny Doren and Rebecca Lopez, WFAA-TV, Dallas-Fort Worth; The Associated Press

Timeline

The current outbreak of Ebola in West Africa is the largest since the virus was first discovered in 1976. Until Sept. 30, no cases of this disease, which has a 50% fatality rate, had been diagnosed in humans in the United States.

• Sept. 19. Thomas Eric Duncan leaves Monrovia, Liberia, for a trip to the United States. He has been exposed to Ebola but is not exhibiting symptoms, so he is not contagious. It is unclear whether he knew he had been exposed.

• Sept. 20. After changing planes in Brussels, Belgium, and at Washington Dulles International Airport, Duncan arrives in Dallas to visit his sister.

• Sept. 24. Duncan's family members tell U.S. authorities this is the day he first felt sick. That is when he likely became contagious.

• Sept. 26. Duncan seeks treatment at Texas Health Presbyterian Hospital Dallas and is sent back to his sister's apartment with antibiotics.

• Sept. 28. Duncan is transported to the same hospital by ambulance. He is critically ill and put in isolation in the hospital's intensive care unit.

• Sept. 30. The federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention confirms that Duncan has been stricken with the Ebola virus, the first patient to be diagnosed in the USA.

• Oct. 1. Duncan's condition is upgraded from critical to serious, and health officials say they are closely monitoring a second patient who had contact with Duncan. Others who have been in contact with Duncan, including paramedics and children, are being observed for symptoms.