--- title: U.S. Ebola Patient Identified as Thomas Eric Duncan. description: The U.S.’s first diagnosed Ebola patient was visiting the States from Liberia, according to his sister canonical: https://time.com/3453271/ebola-patient-thomas-eric-duncan/ author: Alice Park article:opinion: false article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2014-10-01T18:31:04.000Z article:modified_time: 2026-08-04T08:05:29.460Z article:section: Health og:title: U.S. Ebola Patient Identified og:description: The U.S.’s first diagnosed Ebola patient was visiting the States from Liberia, according to his sister og:url: https://time.com/3453271/ebola-patient-thomas-eric-duncan/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltde093bcdab65f2d0/6988d9b9bc6cfc69913e2a3c/time-logo.jpg?branch=production og:image:width: 1200 og:image:height: 675 og:image:alt: TIME og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: U.S. Ebola Patient Identified twitter:description: The U.S.’s first diagnosed Ebola patient was visiting the States from Liberia, according to his sister twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltde093bcdab65f2d0/6988d9b9bc6cfc69913e2a3c/time-logo.jpg?branch=production --- # First U.S. Ebola Patient Identified ## Video: 5 Ebola Questions You're Wondering About [Watch (HLS stream): 5 Ebola Questions You're Wondering About](https://cdn.jwplayer.com/manifests/9QwqrSi9.m3u8) (2:02)  _Published 2014-08-07. TIME Health Reporter Alexandra Sifferlin explains why there's no cure for Ebola, how infected patients are treated, and more common questions about the disease._  by [Alice Park](https://time.com/author/alice-park/)  ## Alice Park Senior Correspondent Oct 1, 2014 6:31 PM UTC  by [Alice Park](https://time.com/author/alice-park/)  ## Alice Park Senior Correspondent Oct 1, 2014 6:31 PM UTC The first patient to be diagnosed with Ebola in the U.S. was [identified](http://bigstory.ap.org/article/44a12c35649f4f6782fcb3c9f476da09/ebola-case-stokes-concerns-liberians-dallas) Wednesday as Thomas Eric Duncan. Duncan’s sister Mai Wureh told the Associated Press it was her brother who is at the center of the country’s latest Ebola scare. Wureh said her brother went to the emergency room on Friday complaining of fever and a nurse asked about whether he had recently been in Ebola-affected countries. He said yes, but, according to Dr. Mark Lester, a clinical leader for Texas Health Resources, the “information was not fully communicated throughout the whole team.” Duncan was sent home with antibiotics, and returned two days later in an ambulance with more severe symptoms. He is currently in serious but stable condition at Texas Health Presbyterian Hospital. \[[_AP_](http://bigstory.ap.org/article/44a12c35649f4f6782fcb3c9f476da09/ebola-case-stokes-concerns-liberians-dallas)\] U.S. Ebola Patient Identified as Thomas Eric Duncan. ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/3453271/ebola-patient-thomas-eric-duncan/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/3453271/ebola-patient-thomas-eric-duncan/"},"headline":"First U.S. Ebola Patient Identified","datePublished":"2014-10-01T18:31:04.000Z","dateModified":"2026-08-04T08:05:29.460Z","description":"His sister identified him","url":"https://time.com/3453271/ebola-patient-thomas-eric-duncan/","keywords":["ebola","Infectious Disease"],"thumbnailUrl":"","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Alice Park","jobTitle":"Senior Correspondent","url":"https://time.com/author/alice-park/"}],"articleSection":"Health","image":[],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/section/health/","name":"Health"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"/tag/ebola/","name":"ebola"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/3453271/ebola-patient-thomas-eric-duncan/","name":"First U.S. Ebola Patient Identified"}}]},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"VideoObject","name":"5 Ebola Questions You're Wondering About","description":"TIME Health Reporter Alexandra Sifferlin explains why there's no cure for Ebola, how infected patients are treated, and more common questions about the disease.","thumbnailUrl":"https://cdn.jwplayer.com/v2/media/9QwqrSi9/poster.jpg?width=720","uploadDate":"2014-08-07T17:31:26.000Z","contentUrl":"https://cdn.jwplayer.com/manifests/9QwqrSi9.m3u8","embedUrl":"https://time.com/3453271/ebola-patient-thomas-eric-duncan/","duration":"PT2M2S","potentialAction":{"@type":"SeekToAction","target":"https://time.com/3453271/ebola-patient-thomas-eric-duncan/?jw_start={seek_to_second_number}","startOffset-input":"required name=seek_to_second_number"}}] ```