NIH official: Ignoring Ebola patient's travel history 'not excusable'

A high-ranking National Institutes of Health (NIH) official said Thursday that it was inexcusable for medical officials to have ignored the travel history of a man who has since been diagnosed with the deadly Ebola virus. Dallas resident Thomas Eric Duncan, who is the first person to be diagnosed with Ebola in the U.S., was reportedly sent home from his first visit to the hospital without being properly diagnosed, despite telling medical personnel he had traveled from Liberia to the U.S. last month. Doctors initially prescribed Duncan antibiotics intended to address other types of health issues according to reports, although his symptoms were later properly identified.