Texas Ebola patient Thomas Eric Duncan, the Liberian man who became the first person to be diagnosed with the virus in the U.S., died at 7:51 a.m. Wednesday morning at a Dallas hospital.
"It is with profound sadness and heartfelt disappointment that we must inform you of the death of Thomas Eric Duncan this morning," Texas Health Resources spokesman Wendell Watson
said in a statement.
"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."
According to NBC News, Duncan, 42, likely contracted the virus in Liberia while helping a pregnant woman try to find an Ebola clinic.
On September 19, he caught a flight to the U.S. He said his symptoms began on September 24, and that he went to a Dallas hospital for treatment September 26. He was not diagnosed with Ebola at the time. He returned to the hospital by ambulance on September 28, where he was subsequently diagnosed with the deadly virus two days later.
Duncan traveled to the U.S. to visit family, including fiancée Louise Troh and their son Karsiah.
"I am not okay and I don’t know what to do," Youngor Jallah, Duncan's daughter,
told ABC News after her father's passing.
Duncan was the first person to be given the experimental Ebola drug brincidofovir, and on Tuesday hospital officials said he was also on a respirator and receiving kidney dialysis.
Judge Clay Jenkins, who helped move Duncan's family into a donated house, said his "thoughts are with the family and friends" of the deceased.
Dallas Mayor Mike Rawlings said in a statement that all of the people Duncan came into contact with in Texas are continuing to be monitored for symptoms of the disease.
"We will stop the Ebola virus in its tracts 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," he said.
© 2025 Newsmax. All rights reserved.