Ebola Frisco 2014: Patient Shows Virus Symptoms After Apparent Thomas Eric Duncan Contact

Update 4:51 p.m. EDT: The Frisco patient was identified as Sgt. Michael Monnig, WFAA reported Wednesday. The deputy accompanied health officials Zachary Thompson and Christopher Perkins into the apartment where original Ebola patient Thomas Eric Duncan resided in Dallas, but Texas Department of State Health Services said there was no indication he had direct contact with Duncan.

Originial story:

Someone displaying symptoms of Ebola, who apparently had contact with Thomas Eric Duncan, showed up at a Care Now facility in Frisco, Texas, Wednesday afternoon, the Dallas Morning News reported. As of now, it's not a confirmed Ebola case.

“The patient claims to have had contact with the Dallas ‘patient zero.’ Frisco firefighter-paramedics are in the process of transporting the patient,” a statement from Dana Baird-Hanks, a spokeswoman with the city of Frisco, said.

Paramedics are reportedly transporting the patient, who has not yet been identified, to Presbyterian Hospital in Dallas, the Morning News reported. Staff and patrons of the facility are being examined for the deadly virus.

Since Duncan was diagnosed with Ebola, there have been 5,000 false alarms in the U.S., Forbes wrote Wednesday. The Centers for Disease Controls said it received more than 800 calls a day regarding the deadly disease -- a drastic jump from the 50 calls a day it received before Duncan’s infection was known.

Duncan, the first person in the U.S. to become sick with virus, died Wednesday. “It is with profound sadness and heartfelt disappointment that we must inform you of the death of Thomas Eric Duncan,” said a statement from Texas Health Presbyterian Hospital, where he was being treated. “He fought courageously in this battle.”

More than 3,400 people in West Africa have been killed by the latest outbreak. The virus might have been spread through handling “bushmeat,” which is the meat of African wild animals, and contact with infected bats.

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