The man being treated for Ebola in Texas may have arrived in that state via Washington Dulles International Airport in Virginia on a United Airlines flight, according to the Metropolitan Washington Airports Authority.
A United Airlines representative said the man is believed to have taken a flight from Brussels to Dulles and then from Dulles to Dallas-Fort Worth on Sept. 20, CNN reported.
According to a statement from the Centers for Disease Control and prevention “the ill person did not exhibit symptoms of Ebola during the flights from West Africa and CDC does not recommend that people on the same commercial airline flights undergo monitoring, as Ebola is contagious only if the person is experiencing active symptoms.”
A CDC spokesperson confirmed this statement, telling CNN that because the patient was asymptomatic when he traveled that there is “’zero risk of transmission’ on any flight on which the patient flew.”
The patient, identified by news sources as Thomas Eric Duncan, is a Liberian national who traveled to the U.S. to visit family.
Mr. Duncan began feeling ill a few days after his arrival in the U.S. He sought treatment at a Dallas hospital but was sent home. He returned two days later, after his symptoms worsened. Ebola test results Tuesday were positive.
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• Jennifer Pompi can be reached at jpompi@washingtontimes.com.
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