Dallas adds another dubious distinction to its history- first US diagnosis of Ebola

[True Anomaly]

It's just unfortunate all around, and this doc I'm sure feels horrible about the entire situation.  Despite this article, we will never really know what actually occurred during the ER visit, as there are so  many things that may or may not be documented- and as winterallsummer pointed out, it still revolves around what both the patient reports and what the hospital staff documents.

 

This paragraph alone summarizes why this was such a difficult situation:

Meier’s notes in the medical records say Duncan “denies any sick contacts.” Duncan reportedly helped a pregnant woman with Ebola days before he traveled from Liberia. But it’s not clear whether Duncan was aware she had Ebola. According to some accounts, he thought her malady was pregnancy-related. Duncan’s nephew said that in a phone call before his uncle’s death, Duncan denied helping the woman at all.

 

In between all that, who knows how many patients Meier was carrying at that one time, with all varying levels of acuity, and sifting through confusion like that on an overnight shift at a busy ER is just tough.  

 

This isn't an effort to whitewash Meier of responsibility, but more of a "thank your lucky stars" that it wasn't any one of us who happened to be in his shoes at that time.  Scary

[cbrsmurf]

I can kind of understand if a typical layperson says he had no sick contacts when helping a pregnant woman, as most people wouldn't regard pregnancy by itself as an illness.