Thomas Eric Duncan, the first person to be treated with Ebola on American soil, has passed away at the Texas Presbyterian Hospital on Wednesday, Fox News reports. Duncan died at 7:51 AM on Wednesday morning, despite the best effort made by the hospital’s personnel.
According to a statement issued by the hospital, Mr. Duncan has in the end succumbed to the dangerous disease, after more than a week of fighting against it. The professionals, the doctors, the nurses and the entire community of the hospital has expressed their support for the family and their condolences for their loss. Being hospitalized at the end of September, Thomas Eric Duncan’s condition has evolved to critical in the last few days. In his final hours he was on ventilator and a kidney dialysis.
Duncan was treated with an experimental drug, a wide spectrum antiviral agent called brincidofovir, that has showed promise against the Ebola virus in laboratory experiments. The same agent is used to treat an American journalist, airlifted to Nebraksa from Liberia, who has contracted the disease while covering the West African epidemic. The agent seems to have been less than ideal in case of Duncan – let’s hope it does a better job with the journalist.
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Duncan has grown up in Liberia, and has recently traveled to the United States to attend the graduation of his son, Karshian. He started showing the first symptoms of the disease a few days after his arrival, and he has visited a local emergency room. He was sent home with a bunch of antibiotics, as the ER personnel has diagnosed him with a general viral infection. He was brought back to the hospital by ambulance two days later, when the disease has finally bean correctly identified. He stayed in isolation at the Texas Presbyterian Hospital since September 30, until his passing away on Wednesday.