Ebola Comes to America

Ebola has come to America in the person of an infected Liberian national named Thomas Eric Duncan who developed in Dallas the symptoms that make him a risk to public health.

Doctors who first treated Duncan weren’t told he had recently come from Liberia. They misdiagnosed his condition and allowed him to go back into the community. While there, he came into contact with at least 100 others, who authorities are monitoring or trying to contact.

The patient reportedly lied before he left Liberia, denying that he had been caring for anybody infected with the disease. Others may do the same, knowing they’ll receive far better care here than at home. That reality argues for a ban on travel to and from the afflicted West African nations until they get this incipient pandemic under control.