Dallas authorities are looking for a homeless man who rode in an ambulance that earlier carried Thomas Eric Duncan, the first person to be diagnosed with Ebola in the United States.
The man was seen Saturday by health authorities in Dallas; he is "asymptomatic" and currently "low risk," County Judge Clay Jenkins said Sunday during a Centers for Disease Control and Prevention press conference. However, Dallas authorities are looking for the man "out of precautionary measures," Jenkins added. He reportedly rode in the ambulance that took Duncan to Texas Health Presbyterian Hospital Dallas last week.
It's unclear why the homeless man was let go on Saturday after being checked for Ebola symptoms, as the CDC and Texas authorities did not provide any further details. Both Jenkins and Texas Health Commissioner David Lakey stressed at the conference that the man did not have direct contact with Duncan, and didn't show any symptoms of the disease on Saturday.
The homeless man is not one of the 10 people who had contact with Duncan; he is part of a larger group of 38 who may have been around Duncan when the latter was showing Ebola symptoms, officials said.
However, authorities still want to monitor the man. "We need the individual to help us by coming forward, and being a hero for his community by letting us help him," Jenkins said during the press conference.
CBS 11 News reporter J.D. Miles released a purported photo of the homeless man, as well as his name, on Sunday morning.
Duncan is the first patient to be diagnosed with Ebola in the U.S. He traveled from Liberia to the U.S. last month, and at the time of boarding, did not show any Ebola symptoms. However, Duncan had been in contact with somebody infected with Ebola. On his way to Dallas, Duncan boarded connecting flights to Brussels and Washington D.C.
Five days after landing, Duncan started feeling sick, but was sent home following his first visit to the emergency room at Texas Health Presbyterian Hospital Dallas. Three days later, on Sept. 28, he returned to the hospital where he was put in isolation.
Additional reporting by the Associated Press.
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