Dallas Ebola Conundrum: Duncan Family Members and Emergency Room Staff Not Ill
Two nurses who were involved in treating Ebola virus victim Thomas Eric Duncan at Texas Health Presbyterian Hospital (THPH) in Dallas, Texas have now fallen ill. They were evidently exposed to the infection through some failure in procedures or equipment.
In the meantime, the four people who lived for four days in the apartment where Duncan became progressively sicker after being turned away from the emergency department at the THPH on September 24, so far do not appear to have come down with disease. (Just checked for news.) The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention notes that " symptoms may appear anywhere from 2 to 21 days after exposure to Ebola but the average is 8 to 10 days."
The onset of Duncan's symptoms was September 24, which means that it has been 22 days since the folks in the apartment and the emergency room personnel could have been first exposed to the virus. The people from the apartment are currently quarantined and, if they show no symptoms, are expected to be released on Sunday, October 19.
Is there a signficant difference in the infectivity of early stage Ebola patients compared to later stages when symptoms are more severe? If so, this could bode well for the folks whose contacts with Duncan and the ill nurses were early and fleeting. Here's hoping.
