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Thomas Duncan, Dallas Ebola patient, dies

Thomas Duncan at a wedding in Ghana in 2001.
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Thomas Duncan, the Dallas Ebola patient, has died, Texas Health Presbyterian Hospital announced.

Zachary Thompson, the medical director at Dallas County Health & Human Services, offered his condolences to Duncan's family.

"It’s been a tough week and a half and so we want to right now just pause and think of Mr. Duncan and his family at this moment," he said. "And again, our hearts and prayers go out to them."

That does not mean the public health team is standing down. They're still working with potential contacts of Duncan.

“We’ll continue in our investigation," he said. "None of the patients that we’re following have shown any symptoms.”

The Ebola situation was uncharted territory for state and local health officials, but Thompson vowed to learn from the experience and says there were no missteps on their part.

“We will learn from this experience and we will improve our overall system from this experience. But I will stand by that there were no missteps and everyone was clearly focused once it was identified that we had a positive case.”

The Dallas school district and Dallas Mayor Mike Rawlings have also released statements on Duncan's death.

From Mayor Rawlings:

“We are deeply saddened to learn that Mr. Thomas Duncan has passed away. We appreciate the dedicated service of the emergency and medical personnel who worked diligently to care for him. On behalf of the city of Dallas, I extend our deepest sympathies to the family and friends of Mr. Duncan. I remain confident in the abilities of our health care professionals and the medical advances here in the U.S. and reassure you we will stop the Ebola virus in its tracks from spreading into our community. I want to reinforce to the public, that this was an isolated incident of the Ebola virus; contracted by the individual while residing in another country. This is sad news for all involved.  We will continue to work in partnership with Dallas County to do everything possible to protect our public health and all of the City of Dallas.” 

From Dallas ISD:

"We are saddened to learn of Mr. Thomas Duncan’s passing and extend our sympathy to his family and loved ones. Today our thoughts are with our students who knew Mr. Duncan. The district will make available counseling services to students and staff most affected. We understand Mr. Duncan’s passing may cause additional questions surrounding the Ebola virus. The district has posted a number of online resources on its Health Updates page that families may find helpful regarding the virus."

Five students from Dallas schools are being monitored for Ebola symptoms after it was revealed last week they may have had contact with Duncan. The district also updated on their conditions.

"To date, the five students who possibly had contact with Mr. Duncan still do not show any signs or symptoms of the virus and therefore are not contagious. They continue to be served through the district’s homebound program during the 21-day observation period."

The hospital said in a statement:

"It is with profound sadness and heartfelt disappointment that we must inform you of the death of Thomas Eric Duncan this morning at 7:51 am. Mr. Duncan succumbed to an insidious disease, Ebola. He fought courageously in this battle. Our professionals, the doctors and nurses in the unit, as well as the entire Texas Health Presbyterian Hospital Dallas community, are also grieving his passing. We have offered the family our support and condolences at this difficult time."

Duncan was brought to the hospital via ambulance on Sept. 28, where he had been in isolation.

Duncan left Liberia on Sept. 19, arriving in Dallas on Sept. 20. He was reuniting with his girlfriend, Louise Troh, in Dallas. They planned to get married. On Sept. 24, Duncan started to get sick and show symptoms, including fever, diarrhea and abdominal pain. On Sept. 26, he went to the emergency room at Texas Health Presbyterian Hospital in Dallas. Duncan told a nurse he had come from Liberia. But the hospital sent him home with antibiotics.

Duncan returned to the hospital on Sept. 28, this time via ambulance.

Dallas County Judge Clay Jenkins, who had met with Duncan's relatives, released a statement about Duncan's death.

“My thoughts are with the family and friends of Thomas Eric Duncan at this time, especially his fiancée Louise, their son Karsiah and all those who loved him," Jenkins said in the statement. "We are also thinking of the dedicated hospital staff who assisted Mr. Duncan daily while he fought this terrible disease.  We offer prayers of comfort and peace to everyone impacted by his passing.”

Dr. David Lakey, commissioner of Texas Department of State Health Services who has been one of the officials investigating Ebola in Dallas, offered this statement:  “The past week has been an enormous test of our health system, but for one family it has been far more personal. Today they lost a dear member of their family. They have our sincere condolences, and we are keeping them in our thoughts. The doctors, nurses and staff at Presbyterian provided excellent and compassionate care, but Ebola is a disease that attacks the body in many ways. We’ll continue every effort to contain the spread of the virus and protect people from this threat.”