Ebola in US: 100 people feared exposed, four quarantined

It is feared that up to 100 people may have had direct or indirect contact with Thomas Eric Duncan, the man diagnosed with Ebola in the United States. Officials also said on Thursday that four people have been quarantined in a Dallas apartment.

Dallas County officials said 12 to 18 people had direct contact with the patient, and they in turn had contact with scores of others.

Dr David Lakey, Commissioner of the Texas Department of State Health Services, said that the four people under quarantine do not have a fever and are healthy.

"There’s food being delivered to them … we’re arranging for that apartment to be cleaned," Lakey said.

Duncan flew to Texas from Liberia via Brussels and Washington two weeks ago. He initially sought treatment at Texas Health Presbyterian Hospital on the night of September 25 but was sent back to the Dallas apartment where he was staying, with antibiotics despite telling a nurse he had just been in West Africa.

By Sunday, he needed an ambulance to return to the same hospital after vomiting on the ground outside the apartment complex. He was confirmed to have contracted the virus on Tuesday.

Health officials however maintain that none of those thought to have had direct or indirect contact with the patient, who was being treated at a Dallas hospital, were showing symptoms of Ebola. The disease can cause fever, bleeding, vomiting and diarrhea and spreads through contact with bodily fluids such as blood or saliva.

Police and armed security guards were keeping people about 100 yards away from the apartment on Thursday, with orange cones blocking the entrance and exit. Maintenance workers using high-pressure water were scrubbing the parking lot with bleach. The workers were not wearing any protective gear.

U.S. officials initially described the number of people potentially exposed as a handful, and on Wednesday said it was up to 18. Then on Thursday, the Texas health department said there were about 100 potential contacts. Dallas County officials, said however, that more than 80 had direct or indirect contact.

"We are working from a list of about 100 potential or possible contacts," Texas health department spokeswoman Carrie Williams said.

"Out of an abundance of caution, we're starting with this very wide net, including people who have had even brief encounters with the patient or the patient's home. The number will drop as we focus in on those whose contact may represent a potential risk of infection."