Monthly Archives: October 2014

FROM DAILY MAIL:

• Thomas Eric Duncan, 42, is pictured arriving at Dallas-Fort Worth Airport 
• Holds a relative wearing traditional African dress while on the phone
• Is notifying his family members that he will be at their Dallas home shortly 
• Was able to make the journey after allegedly lying on health forms in Liberia 

By NICK FAGGE IN DALLAS, TEXAS FOR MAILONLINE

PUBLISHED: 16:56 EST, 4 October 2014 | UPDATED: 19:45 EST, 4 October 2014

Standing in the arrivals lounge of Dallas-Fort Worth International Airport this is the moment Ebola victim Thomas Eric Duncan unwittingly brought the deadly virus to the USA.

Pictured moments after he completed his journey from disease-ravaged Liberia, two weeks ago, the 42-year-old smiles, as he is greeted warmly by relatives.

Holding a family member close he calls others on his cell phone to tell them he will shortly be arriving at their home in Dallas.

It follows a journey he was only able to make after he allegedly lied on an airport questionnaire in Liberia about not having any contact with a person infected with the deadly disease.

Scroll down for video 

+4

Arrival: Ebola victim Thomas Eric Duncan, 42 greets a woman and phones his family after landing at Dallas-Forth Worth International Airport on September 20th

Dressed in a traditional African costume and with her hair-styled especially for the happy occasion the relative appears pleased to see him.

Looking healthy Mr Duncan shows no signs of the potentially fatal Ebola virus that struck him down just days after he arrived in the USA.

Today the 42-year-old is fighting for his life at the Texas Health Presbyterian Hospital in Dallas after doctors confirmed his medical condition had dramatically altered from serious to critica

However the relative – who MailOnline have decided not to name – appears to have initially been in denial about the risk to her health after her extended family and friends contacted her following Mr Duncan’s hospital admission last week.

A friend told MailOnline: ‘She is the one who went to pick Thomas Eric Duncan up from the airport.

‘They greeted each other, they hugged and held each other, which is only normal. They were pleased to see each other.

‘But now everyone has been asking her about what has happened.

‘And she has replied; “my Daddy does not have Ebola.”

‘She said; “Everyone should stop calling me because my dad does not have Ebola.”

+4

Document: A photo shows a copy of a passenger health screening form filled out by Thomas Eric Duncan and handed to the Liberian Airport Authority. Officials in the country say they plan to prosecute him

The relative was urged to undergo medical tests to see if she had become infected by the virus. But she appeared to be reluctant to do so.

The friend told MailOnline: ‘She was meant to go for a medical check-up because she was one of the people who had been with him [Thomas Duncan], but she did not.’

It is unclear whether the relative – who is in a stable relationship and has three young children – has since been to see a doctor.

Mr Duncan arrived in Texas on September 20th after passing through two of the busiest airports in the USA – at Dallas-Fort Worth International Airport, and Dulles International Airport in Washington DC.

The Liberian national had earlier passed through Brussels International in Belgium on a flight from the African state’s capital Monrovia.

Authorities have claimed he posed no danger to his fellow travelers or anyone who later boarded those planes because he was not displacing any symptoms of the Ebola virus at the time and was therefore not contagious.

+4

Home: After leaving the airport, the 42-year-old went to this apartment in Dallas where he stayed with four members of his family. Hazmat teams decontaminated the area a week after he was diagnosed with Ebola

However the 42-year-old helped to carry pregnant daughter of a neighbour who was dying of Ebola prior to the journey.

Mr Duncan had come to Dallas to marry the mother of his estranged son, Louise Troh, which would have paved the way for him to stay in the USA permanently, it has emerged.

Mark Wingfield, pastor at the Wilshire Baptist Church in Dallas, where Ms Troh worships, told MailOnline: ‘Louise told our senior pastor on Thursday.

The 42-year-old, who is understood to have arrived in the USA on a tourist visa, met Ms Troh in Liberia many years ago, according to Wilshire Baptist church pastor George Mason.

He said: ‘They had this child. They had a falling out, and she came to the [United] States.’

The child, Kasiah Duncan, also came to the USA and this week said he had not seen his father since he was aged three. He is a 19-year-old college student at Angelo State University in San Angelo.

+4

Relocated: Two of Duncan’s relatives who were quarantined inside the apartment are seen leaving and being moved to another, undisclosed location

Mr Mason added: ‘The son hasn’t really seen his father for many years.

‘I think [Duncan] was seeking reconciliation and hoping they might marry.’

Ms Troh visited the Liberian capital Monrovia, where Mr Duncan was living, in August this year, according to her Facebook page.

Louise Troh’s ex-husband Joe Joe Jallah, who met Mr Duncan before he was admitted to hospital, told the Wall Street Journal, that he believed this was his first trip to the USA.

Mr Duncan arrived in Texas on September 20. He began showing symptoms of Ebola three days after his arrival and was admitted to Texas Presbyterian Hospital on Sunday.

Texas health officials have said about 100 people may have come into contact with Mr Duncan.

And today they announced nine family members and health-care workers had had direct exposure to the Ebola patient and that none has had any symptoms of the disease.

Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2780855/PICTURE-EXCLUSIVE-Moment-Ebola-victim-arrived-Dallas-greeted-smiling-relative-flight-Liberia-bringing-deadly-virus-American-soil.html#ixzz3FEltQCth
Follow us: @MailOnline on Twitter | DailyMail on Facebook