Education

ASU: No Public Health Risk From Student Who was Son of Ebola Victim

By Joe Hyde, Oct 17, 2014
 

Angelo State University freshman student Eric Karsiah Duncan Jr. did not have any physical contact with his father, Thomas Eric Duncan, either immediately before or after his father’s diagnoses and death via the Ebola virus. By the time the ASU student traveled to Dallas, his father was already isolated and quarantined, said ASU spokesperson Rebekah Brackin.

Concerns were expressed by multiple emails and phone calls to the San Angelo LIVE! office that there was a public health risk in San Angelo because of the student’s close association with the virus.

“He was given ‘flex time’ for two weeks so that he could help with making arrangements for his father,” Brackin said. “We’d give this to any student experiencing a death of a parent.” Brackin acknowledged that this incident has the added burden of being a very public thing.

“We have professors working with him and [University President] Dr. Brian May has a conversation with him daily,” she said. “We expect him back in class and to finish this semester.”

Brackin stressed that there was no window of opportunity for Karsiah to be exposed to the Ebola virus.

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live, Fri, 10/17/2014 - 10:27

We had about a dozen inquiries yesterday, so we asked. These are the facts.

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yeah he didn't come in touch with his old man, but what about the rest of the family that was around him? did they have contact with him? are they in quarantine too? is the kid actually staying away on his own or is he under quarantine too to be safe? has he been traveling back & forth since the inital confirmation it was his dad? just a lot of questions...feel sorry for the kid and all losing his dad, but still, better safe than sorry and a lack of info is how this junk spreads
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The Obama administration is not about to admit that closing the borders will keep these diseases out off the country. With "comprehensive immigration reform" a key platform issue for the democrats, they would rather let illegal immigrants bring disease and crime in and deal with the death toll later. Of course, they'll never admit it's their policy that caused the problem to begin with.
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First and foremost, my heart goes out to the Duncan family. This is an awful tragedy and I can only imagine the heartache Eric is feeling having lost his father. Secondly, and this is my opinion so you can feel free to take it or leave it, I just can't find any fault (as much as I might like) with the Obama administration in this situation. Closing the borders would seem like the solution, but doesn't it seem impractical? What about missionary work, military, and humanitarian missions, and Americans that travel abroad for business? It seems to me the arrival of Ebola to the United States in the modern age was an inevitability, and the most effective course of action at this time is to prepare the medical system to tackle this awful disease. Personally, I think the media (not necessarily SanAngeloLive, mind you) has blown this up and is profiting from the sensationalism. Not like my tiny little insignificant voice actually matters but we should most definitely be focusing our efforts on beefing up our health care. What's the National Guard going to do in Liberia? Shoot the virus to death? *sarcasm*
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