Thomas Duncan's family took measures that could have helped stop the spread of Ebola in Dallas. WFAA
'They looked after themselves,' says Thompson. 'Therefore, they looked after others.'
DALLAS -- The fact that Thomas Duncan's own family didn't get sick should speak volumes to a worried public, say health experts.
'I hope people can rest easier,' says ABC News medical editor Dr. Richard Besser. 'What that says is Ebola is a pretty hard infection to pick up outside of a healthcare setting.'
The Texas Department of State Health Services cleared 51 people from active surveillance. Forty-four of them were people who had contact with Thomas Duncan while he was infectious. Duncan was the first man diagnosed with Ebola in the United States.
Dallas county health officials say the virus may not have spread, in part, because of actions taken inside the apartment where Thomas Duncan was staying.
'They not only did the cleaning of the apartment area,' says health department director Zachary Thompson, 'but they also did a cleaning of themselves.'
Thompson is one of a handful of people who went inside the apartment before hazmat showed up to decontaminate. Thompson says he felt comfortable going inside, knowing that anything potentially contaminated by then had been wiped down or sealed off by the family.
'The left hand side of the apartment was where Mr. Duncan was staying,' says Thompson, 'They were very clear that everything related to Mr. Duncan was in that room. Everything was stored, bagged and was in that room.'
He says within hours of Duncan being admitted to Texas Health Presbyterian, the family had purchased cleaning supplies, including gloves and bleach. Bleach kills the Ebola virus.
Even the carpet was sprayed down, as a precaution.
Thompson says those efforts may have kept the virus from spreading among the family and to the general public.
'They looked after themselves,' says Thompson. 'Therefore, they looked after others.'
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Posted by Unknown on Monday, October 20, 2014 - Rating: 4.5
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