Phoenix man: My half-brother, Thomas Eric Duncan, tested negative for Ebola in Liberia
Oct 2, 2014, 10:46 AM | Updated: 12:34 pm
PHOENIX — A Phoenix man claiming to be the half-brother of the man infected with Ebola said Thomas Eric Duncan tested negative for the virus when he left Liberia.
The Telegraph said Wilfred Smallwood expressed concern over why Duncan was initially turned away from a Dallas-area hospital before being diagnosed with Ebola two days later.
“They took him back to the same hospital the doctor now says that he has Ebola so our question is how does that happen, what did he contract it from? He was tested in Africa as negative and after the hospital after he got medication, he was OK.
“How come he got Ebola after they gave him medication? That’s our major concern right now.”
Smallwood said Duncan was visiting the United States for the first time to visit family in Dallas when he fell ill. He added Duncan was also saving to visit the Phoenix area.
Smallwood said the Dallas hospital treating his half-brother has not allowed them to communicate. He has spoken to quarantined family members, including his son, and said they are all doing well.
“Everybody was feeling very happy,” he said. “Nobody was showing anything — fever, sweats, nothing. Nothing at all.”
Though he wishes he could see his half-brother, Smallwood understand the doctors are working to control the disease and save Duncan.