Thomas Eric Duncan, the patient with the first case of Ebola diagnosed in the United States, died Wednesday morning while in isolation at a Dallas hospital.
The news comes exactly two weeks after the virus was detected in the 42-year-old, five days after he returned from Liberia.
The New York Times reports that Duncan’s condition went from critical to serious in recent days, despite doctor’s efforts to aid his fluid and electrolyte levels, which is crucial to recovery in the disease. Doctors also attempted to treat him with an FDA-approved emergency experimental antiviral drug called Brincidofovir.
Duncan is believed to have contracted the disease in Liberia where the Times reports he helped a family carry an Ebola victim to and from a hospital. He went to the emergency room at Texas Health Presbyterian Hospital the day after he returned to America on Sept. 25, but was released after they failed to detect the virus. Duncan returned and was admitted to the hospital three days later after his condition worsened.
Health officials in Dallas have been working to interview and examine people who might have had contact with Duncan, including family members and people he may have interacted during his flight from Liberia to Texas.
The newspaper reports none of the people officials have monitored have shown symptoms of Ebola and they are confident that they have limited the spread of the disease in the area.
In addition, the federal officals announced Wednesday that they will begin Ebola screenings at five airports starting with Kennedy International in New York this weekend, and Washington Dulles International, O’Hare International, Hartsfield-Jackson International and Newark Liberty International next week.