News: First U.S. Ebola patient ‘critically ill’ & would not be given ZMapp because there is none of it left

UPDATE

News:  Dallas Ebola patient came in contact with at least 12 people & oh dear did he fly through London's Heathrow airport?

Fears are growing that the Ebola victim currently in quarantine in Dallas, Texas, could travelled via London's Heathrow airport on his way to the U.S.

The patient was infected with the deadly virus in Liberia. He is known to have then flown to Brussels, Belgium, but there are no direct flights to Dallas from there.

That raises the alarming prospect that he may have travelled via Heathrow, the world's busiest international airport, to take a connecting flight back home to Texas.

Schoolchildren in Texas may be at risk from Ebola today after five children who attend four different Dallas schools came in close contact with the first patient diagnosed with the deadly virus on U.S. soil. 

Officials said on Wednesday that the students were in school this week after possibly being in contact with the patient over the weekend when he had become contagious. 

The Ebola patient was named today as Thomas Eric Duncan, a Liberian national who had traveled to the U.S. from Liberia on September 20 to visit family. 

His sister Mai Wureh said her sick brother told officials the first time he went to Texas Health Presbyterian Hospital that he was visiting from the West African country in the so-called 'Ebola hot zone' - before he was sent home with antibiotics, a critically missed opportunity to prevent others being exposed to the disease.

Dallas Independent School District Superintendent Mike Miles said on Wednesday the children who came in contact with Mr Duncan are showing no symptoms and are now being monitored at home. As an added precaution, Miles says additional health and custodial staff will be at the high, middle and two elementary schools the students attend.

Mr Duncan's family are among up to 18 people being monitored after exposure to the man along with the ambulance crew who transported him to hospital.

Thomas Eric Duncan

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A Dallas hospital gave a man antibiotics and sent him home - only for him to be admitted two days later, it has been reported. Federal health officials later confirmed he has the first case of Ebola diagnosed in the US.

The unidentified patient has been in isolation at Texas Health Presbyterian Hospital since Sunday, officials said. 

'#Dallas patient diagnosed with #Ebola was initially dismissed with prescription for antibiotics,' CBS DFW tweeted. 

Medical officials said the patient would not be given the experimental treatment ZMapp because there is none of it left.

The man recently traveled from Liberia to Dallas. 

Officials have not disclosed his nationality but a statement from the city of Dallas said he was visiting relatives in the US.

Dr. Edward Goodman told Dallas News 'it does not appear the man went to any other hospitals in the area,' website said. 

Scott Gordon, a reporter for KXAS, tweeted 'Hospital reviewing why patient wasn't properly diagnosed on Friday when he was evaluated and sent home. Dismissed with antibiotics.'

Health authorities have begun tracking down family and friends who may have had close contact with the patient and could be at risk for becoming ill. But officials said there are no other suspected cases in Texas.

At the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Dr. Tom Frieden said the patient left Liberia on Sept. 19, arrived the next day to visit family and started feeling ill four or five days later. He said it was not clear how the person became infected.Frieden said there was no risk to anyone on the airplane because the patient had no symptoms at the time of the flight. He also said the patient is now “critically ill” and that the CDC is exploring “experimental Ebola treatments.”