Medical Records Reveal Deceased Texas Ebola Patient Sent Home With High Fever

Thomas Duncan was released from hospital with 103F degree fever, despite telling nurse about recent travels

Thomas Duncan, the first person to die of Ebola in the US, was released from hospital with a 103F fever on his first visit, despite telling a nurse he had recently travelled from Africa and exhibiting key symptoms of the deadly virus, it was revealed on Friday.  Duncan, a Liberian national, was sent home from Texas Health Presbyterian Hospital even though his fever spiked on his first visit to the emergency room on 26 September, according to his medical records obtained by the Associated Press. A “physician’s note” from the visit says Duncan was “negative for fever and chills” despite having a 103F (39.4C) temperature.

The family provided the AP with more than 1,400 pages of Duncan’s medical records, which apparently chronicle the events that ultimately culminated in his death at 7.51am on Wednesday.  Duncan arrived in Dallas from Liberia on 20 September to be reunited with Louise Troh, the mother of his child, whom he intended to marry. A few days later, Duncan fell ill. He went to the hospital complaining of abdominal pain, dizziness, a headache and decreased urination, according to the AP. The records show that Duncan reported his level of pain was eight on a scale of 10. Doctors ran a series of tests, ruling out appendicitis and a stroke, among other ailments.

When the examination was over, the doctors prescribed him antibiotics and told him to take Tylenol, an over-the-counter drug designed to relieve pain and fever. Duncan returned home to the apartment he was sharing with Troh and her relatives...