Ebola In Dallas: Scenes, Sounds and Stories

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On Sept. 30, 2014, the United States had its first diagnosis of the Ebola virus. Thomas Eric Duncan, a Liberian national, tested positive days after he was initially sent home from a Dallas emergency room. He died Oct. 8. Two nurses who treated him contracted Ebola; they survived. North Texas was on edge.

The news put Dallas in the national spotlight for weeks. Here’s a roundup of KERA coverage, including live blogs, online stories, radio reports and videos.

A worker with CG Environmental-Cleaning Guys sprays disinfectant outside the Marquita Street, Dallas apartment building
where a health care worker believed to be infected with Ebola lives on Sunday, Oct. 12, 2014. (Jim Tuttle/The Dallas Morning News)

Sept. 30: Dallas Patient Tests Positive

The patient, a man, left Liberia on Sept. 19 and arrived in the United States to visit family in Texas on Sept. 20, CDC officials said at a press conference. He showed no symptoms when leaving Liberia or when he arrived in the U.S.

On Sept. 24, he started showing symptoms. He sought care and was admitted to Texas Health Presbyterian Hospital in Dallas. The hospital announced Sept. 29 that the patient was being tested for Ebola. A blood sample arrived at a state of Texas lab. A sample also arrived at the CDC.

The patient is “critically ill,” CDC officials say.

Read the full KERA News report here. 

Oct. 2: Ebola In The ER: What Happens To Business As Usual?

Hospitals compete for patients, and emergency departments play a big role in business. So what happens to business when a hospital takes on a patient with Ebola? One recent afternoon, there was no wait time at Texas Health Presbyterian’s emergency room in Dallas.

Read Lauren Silverman’s full report here.

Thomas Eric Duncan visited the Ivy apartments in Vickery Meadow before being transported to Texas Health Presbyterian Hospital in Dallas. Photo: Doualy Xaykaothao, KERA News

Oct. 4: Dallas Ebola Patient In Critical Condition

Health officials were monitoring about 50 people for signs of Ebola who may have had contact with Duncan, including nine who were believed to be at a higher risk. So far, none were showing symptoms.

A hazardous-materials crew decontaminated the Vickery Meadow apartment where Duncan was staying when he got sick during his visit. The materials were sealed in industrial barrels that were to be stored in trucks until they could be hauled away for disposal.

The family who lived there was moved to a private home in a gated community, where they are being carefully monitored. The city had been having trouble finding a place that would take in Duncan’s fiancée, Louise Troh, originally from Liberia, her 13-year-old son and two nephews.

Read Eric Aasen’s full report here.

• Oct. 5: For One Dallas Church, Ebola Becomes Personal As One Member Is Quarantined
• Oct. 5: Update: Officials Find Homeless Man Who May Have Been In Contact With Ebola Patient
• Oct. 6: To Fight Ebola, Dallas ISD Uses Fever Scanners To Screen Students

This is a version of what Wello gave to five Dallas schools. Hold your face about a foot from the screen, look into two little circles, hold steady as the “eye” on top rotates, takes some readings, and shows your body’s temperature on the screen. Photo: Bill Zeeble

• Oct. 6: Dallas Patient Receiving Experimental Treatment, Hospital Says
• Oct. 7: Health Officials Say This Week Will Be Critical For Ebola Contacts
• Oct. 7: State Lawmakers Seek Answers In Ebola Case

Oct. 8: Dallas Ebola Patient Thomas Eric Duncan Dies

Thomas Duncan, the Dallas Ebola patient, died at Texas Health Presbyterian Hospital Wednesday morning. Photo: Facebook

• Oct. 8: Who Was Thomas Eric Duncan? A Man Who Was Loved And In Love
• Oct. 8: Death Of Dallas Ebola Patient Concerns And Saddens Vickery Meadow Residents

Bisharo Mohamed Iscak and Bink Ahmed, refugees from Somalia, stopped by Arif Cafe in the Vickery Meadow neighorhood to order lunch. Photo: Stella Chavez, KERA News

• Oct. 9: Prayer Vigil Turns Into Memorial After Death Of Dallas Ebola Patient
• Oct. 9: Hospital Says It Gave Experimental Treatment To Ebola Patient As Quickly As Possible

Oct. 12: Dallas Hospital Worker Tests Positive For Ebola

• Oct. 13: Second Patient Who Tested Positive For Ebola Is A 26-Year-Old Nurse
• Oct. 13: About 70 Presbyterian Hospital Workers Cared For Dallas Ebola Patient
• Oct. 13: East Dallas Neighborhood Where Second Ebola Patient Lives Remains Calm
• Oct. 13: Bentley, Ebola Nurse’s Dog, Is Safe With Dallas Animal Services

Crews worked to remove Bentley from Nina Pham’s apartment in East Dallas. Photo: Dallas Animal Services

• Oct. 14: 76 Presbyterian Hospital Workers Being Monitored For Ebola Symptoms
• Oct. 14: At Fort Worth Church, Friends Pray For Nurse With Ebola
• Oct. 14: When It Comes To Ebola And Dogs, Not Much Is Known
• Oct. 15: Following 2nd Ebola Nurse Diagnosis, Dallas Village Reacts With Caution And Concern

Oct. 15: CDC Gives Update On Ebola Patients

Decontamination workers start on an apartment in The Village complex near Skillman Ave. in Dallas. Photo: Max Geron/Dallas Police Department Twitter/@maxdpd

Oct. 17: People Are Freaking Out: Ebola Fear Keeps Patients Away From Dallas Hospitals, Clinics

Texas Health Presbyterian Hospital in Dallas on the evening of Wednesday, Oct. 1, 2014. A patient with the first ever diagnosed case of Ebola in the United States is being treated under quarantine at the hospital. (Jim Tuttle/The Dallas Morning News)

Clients that do visit are asking if Ebola is airborne. One parent told him her daughter’s teacher has a low-grade fever, and is in quarantine, so the mother brought the daughter to be checked for Ebola.

“People don’t believe anybody,” he said. “People want to stay away from anybody that lives in the neighborhood. They’re just afraid of the unknown.”

A surgeon with a private practice at Texas Health Presbyterian Hospital, where the Ebola patients have been treated, says patients weren’t making appointments.

“The whole hospital is really like a ghost town,” Dr. Alexandra Dresel said. “The cafeteria is empty. The parking lots are empty. The operating room, which is normally full of cases, has a much smaller load.”

Read Doualy Xaykaothao’s full report here.

Oct. 21: Nina Pham, Dallas Nurse, In Good Condition

The condition of Nina Pham, the first Dallas nurse infected with Ebola, was upgraded to good from fair, the National Institutes of Health announced.

“The NIH has received countless inquiries and expressions of support” for Pham, the NIH said in a statement. “The NIH Clinical Center staff has shared the general sentiments with her and Ms. Pham has expressed her gratitude for everyone’s concerns and well wishes.”

Pham was transferred to NIH in Maryland from Texas Health Presbyterian Hospital in Dallas.

Read Krystina Martinez’s full report here.

Nina Pham arrived at Fort Worth’s Meacham International Airport. Photo: Texas Health Resources

Oct. 28: Amber Vinson: ‘I’m So Grateful To Be Well’

Amber Vinson, the nurse that had Ebola and is now Ebola free, got a hug and a kiss from Former President George W. Bush at Texas Health Presbyterian Hospital of Dallas on Friday, November 7, 2014 in recognition of the official end of the Ebola outbreak that started there in late September. (David Woo/The Dallas Morning News)

Nov. 7: President Bush Meets Nurse Amber Vinson; Ebola Monitoring Period Ends In Dallas

Doctors, nurses and others who fought back against Ebola have been named Time’s Person of the Year for 2014. Photo: Time Magazine

Family members of Thomas Eric Duncan, (from left) his son Charles Amos Duncan, nephew Josephus Weeks, mother Nowai Gartay Korkoyah, father Jacob B. Duncan and sister Tupee Garsinii pray before Texas Health Resources’ announcement of a scholarship program to train doctors and nurses in Liberia during a press conference at the hospital in Dallas, Texas May 4, 2015. (Nathan Hunsinger/The Dallas Morning News)

Selected photos courtesy of The Dallas Morning News.