EBOLA IN US: Liberian Father, Daughter Detained At US Airport After Vomiting During Flight

Posted by African Examiner Ebola News, Featured, Latest Headlines Saturday, October 4th, 2014

…As CDC Declares Thomas Eric Duncan is in Critical Condition

Two passengers suspected to be suffering from the deadly Ebola virus were removed from a United Airlines flight that landed at Newark Liberty International Airport in New Jersey Saturday.

United flight 998 from Brussels landed at Newark Airport and was met by Centers for Disease Control officials based in Newark after a 35-year-old man and his daughter, who are both from Liberia exhibited possible signs of Ebola.

CDC Officials Trying To Remove The Man and His Daughter on Arrival at Newark Airport

An official who had been briefed on the situation said the passenger was “vomiting on the flight but did not display most of the other symptoms.”

Officials with the CDC removed the two passengers from the plane while other passengers remained on board. The man and his daughter were both escorted by a CDC crew in full HAZMAT gear. The daughter did not exhibit any symptoms. They were taken to University Hospital where the emergency room will not accept anyone else for four hours.

The airline issued a statement confirming that crew members needed to assist an ill customer on the flight. “Upon arrival at Newark Airport from Brussels, medical professionals instructed that customers and crew of United flight 988 remain on board until they could assist an ill customer.

All the other passengers on the flight from Brussels were cleared to leave the plane.

Meanwhile, Thomas Eric Duncan, the first Ebola patient diagnosed in the United States, is now in critical condition, a Texas Health Presbyterian Hospital spokeswoman said Saturday.

The Liberian man had previously been listed as being in serious condition. Hospital spokeswoman Candace White offered no new details other than his condition.

Earlier, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said Duncan was in intensive care.

About 10 people are at “higher risk” of catching Ebola after coming into contact with Duncan but have shown no symptoms, health officials said Saturday.

The group is among 50 people being monitored daily, but the other 40 are considered “low risk,” said Dr. David Lakey, the commissioner of Texas department of state health services.

The nine people who had definite contact with the Ebola patient — including family members and health care professionals — have been monitored and show no symptoms or fevers, Dr. Tom Frieden, director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, said Saturday.