--- description: Health officials assure the public that only friends and family of the first patient are at serious risk title: Second Patient Monitored for Ebola in Texas image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt4776bd7495299684/6986a642cd804d501fccd13b/ebola10.jpg?branch=production&width=3840&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  * [Health](/section/health/) ## Health Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close * [ebola](/tag/ebola/) ## ebola Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close # Second Patient Monitored for Ebola in Texas ## Video: Meet The CDC Doctors Fighting Ebola [Watch (HLS stream): Meet The CDC Doctors Fighting Ebola](https://cdn.jwplayer.com/manifests/G194AmTC.m3u8) (2:32)  _Published 2014-08-13. Meet The CDC Doctors Fighting Ebola_  by [Eliana Dockterman](/author/eliana-dockterman/)  ## Eliana Dockterman Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Correspondent Oct 1, 2014 5:39 PM CUT  Transmission electron micrograph of Ebola virus Transmission electron micrograph of Ebola virusGetty Images  by [Eliana Dockterman](/author/eliana-dockterman/)  ## Eliana Dockterman Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Correspondent Oct 1, 2014 5:39 PM CUT Health officials in Texas are monitoring a [second patient for Ebola](http://www.wfaa.com/story/news/health/2014/10/01/thompson-dallas-county-ebola-patient-cases/16524303/ "undefined"), as they investigate over a dozen individuals who were in contact with the first person diagnosed with the disease in the United States. “Let me be real frank to the Dallas County residents: The fact that we have one confirmed case, there may be another case that is a close associate with this particular patient,” Zachary Thompson, director of Dallas County Health and Human Services (DCHHS), said in a morning interview with WFAA-TV. “So this is real. There should be a concern, but it’s contained to the specific family members and close friends at this moment.” The Dallas County bureau later underscored that there had been no confirmation of a second case, as some media outlets had reported: > [](https://twitter.com/DCHHS/status/517349667416199168) Officials have said the man came into contact with 12 to 18 people after returning from Liberia, all of whom are being investigated. The first case of Ebola was confirmed at the Texas Health Presbyterian Hospital Dallas on Tuesday. The patient had flown from Liberia to Texas on Sept. 19 and sought treatment for symptoms on Sept. 26\. Health officials say they have contained the virus to the area and are working closely with the Dallas County school district. \[[_WFAA_](http://www.wfaa.com/story/news/health/2014/10/01/thompson-dallas-county-ebola-patient-cases/16524303/ "undefined")[_\-TV_](http://www.wfaa.com/story/news/health/2014/10/01/thompson-dallas-county-ebola-patient-cases/16524303/ "undefined")\] ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/3453093/ebola-texas-dallas-second-patient/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/3453093/ebola-texas-dallas-second-patient/"},"headline":"Second Patient Monitored for Ebola in Texas","datePublished":"2014-10-01T17:39:38.000Z","dateModified":"2026-02-21T10:31:23.830Z","description":"Health officials assure the public that only friends and family of the first patient are at serious risk","url":"https://time.com/3453093/ebola-texas-dallas-second-patient/","keywords":["ebola","Infectious Disease"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt4776bd7495299684/6986a642cd804d501fccd13b/ebola10.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Eliana Dockterman","jobTitle":"Correspondent","url":"https://time.com/author/eliana-dockterman/"}],"articleSection":"Health","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt4776bd7495299684/6986a642cd804d501fccd13b/ebola10.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675,"headline":"Ebola","caption":"Ebola","creditText":"Getty Images","representativeOfPage":true}],"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/3453093/ebola-texas-dallas-second-patient/","name":"Second Patient Monitored for Ebola in Texas"}}]},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"VideoObject","name":"Meet The CDC Doctors Fighting Ebola","description":"Meet The CDC Doctors Fighting Ebola","thumbnailUrl":"https://cdn.jwplayer.com/v2/media/G194AmTC/poster.jpg?width=720","uploadDate":"2014-08-13T23:41:12.000Z","contentUrl":"https://cdn.jwplayer.com/manifests/G194AmTC.m3u8","embedUrl":"https://time.com/3453093/ebola-texas-dallas-second-patient/","duration":"PT2M32S","potentialAction":{"@type":"SeekToAction","target":"https://time.com/3453093/ebola-texas-dallas-second-patient/?jw_start={seek_to_second_number}","startOffset-input":"required name=seek_to_second_number"}}] ```