A Liberian man who was the first
person diagnosed with Ebola outside of West Africa died in a Texas
hospital Wednesday, as Washington stepped up airport screening against
the deadly virus.
"Mr. Duncan succumbed to an
insidious disease, Ebola. He fought courageously in this battle," said a
statement from Texas Health Presbyterian Hospital Dallas.
Duncan is believed to have been infected with Ebola before he left Liberia and boarded a plane to visit family in Texas.
The
US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has said there was "zero
risk" that he had infected any fellow travelers because he was not
symptomatic until days after the flight.
Duncan's case however raised global fears, leading to a spike of
suspected Ebola cases and forcing governments to consider stronger
methods of keeping the virus at bay.
The world's largest outbreak of
Ebola has killed more than 3,400 people in Liberia, Guinea, Sierra
Leone, Nigeria and Senegal since the beginning of the year.
Hours
after Duncan died, the White House announced that stricter airport
screenings would be implemented at five major US airports.
The
measures will include sending extra CDC staff to select airports and
taking the temperatures of people arriving from Ebola-hit nations.
The "vast majority of people"
coming from Guinea, Liberia and Sierra Leone -- the three countries hit
hardest by the epidemic -- will be screened, White House spokesman Josh
Earnest said.
The airports
implementing the measures are John F. Kennedy International in New York,
Washington Dulles International, Chicago O'Hare International,
Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International and Newark Liberty
International in New Jersey. Read more :
