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Nephew of US Ebola Patient Forced to Call CDC to Get Action Taken: Reports

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The first person diagnosed with the Ebola virus in the United States did not receive proper help before his nephew personally urged the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) to take action, NBC News reported Thursday.

MOSCOW, October 2 (RIA Novosti) - The first person diagnosed with the Ebola virus in the United States did not receive proper help before his nephew personally urged the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) to take action, NBC News reported Thursday.

"I called CDC to get some actions taken, because I was concerned for his life and he was not getting the appropriate care. . . I feared other people might also get infected if he was not taken care of, and so I called them to ask them why is it a patient that might be suspected of this disease was not getting appropriate care?" Josephus Weeks, nephew of the first US Ebola patient, is cited as saying by NBC News.

The first case of Ebola virus infection was confirmed by the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and Texas Health Department in Dallas on Tuesday. The patient was later identified by officials in Liberia as Thomas Eric Duncan, a resident of Monrovia.

Duncan first sought medical help on Thursday, September 25, but was not admitted or tested for the Ebola virus, as he "was not exhibiting symptoms" specific to the disease, Texas health officials informed.

The patient was rushed to the Texas Health Presbyterian hospital on Sunday, "at which time emergency medical services had already identified potential need for isolation," said a statement published by Texas Health Resources. According to Duncan's nephew, the action was taken the same day he contacted the CDC.

On Wednesday, Texas Governor Rick Perry informed that the Ebola-infected man had been in contact with five school-age children who had come to visit him during the weekend. The children are not under quarantine but are being closely monitored and have been asked to remain in their homes, he said.

The Ebola virus disease is a highly dangerous one transmitted through direct contact with the bodily fluids of those infected. There is no officially approved medication for the disease as of today.

The worst Ebola outbreak in history is currently taking place in West Africa. The epidemic has claimed the lives of over 3,300 people, according to the latest WHO estimates. Over 7,000 cases of infection have been registered. The outbreak began in southern Guinea in February and has since spread to Liberia, Sierra Leone, Nigeria and Senegal.

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