Sick American Airlines Passenger Causes Ebola Scare in Midland

MIDLAND—Midland Memorial Hospital officially ruled out the Ebola virus this morning in a sick passenger whose flu-like symptoms in-flight caused a scare on American Airlines flight 2791 last night headed from Dallas to Midland.

At approximately 10:45 p.m., 20 minutes before the plane’s scheduled landing, the Midland control tower received a call from the pilot of the plane, who reported he had a sick passenger on board, city of Midland Public Information Officer Sara Bustilloz said.

American Airlines distributed face masks to the passengers and landed on the tarmac as scheduled at 11:05 p.m., where they were met with first responders and firemen dressed in gowns, face masks and gloves.

Firemen entered the plane and placed the woman in an ambulance and she was transported to Midland Memorial Hospital. Bustilloz was quoted on various media sources Tuesday night as saying that city officials did not believe the passenger had Ebola, however with recent media attention to the outbreak in Africa and the case in Dallas, passengers quickly became concerned.

The passengers were held on the plane until approximately 12:30 a.m., and after being checked and monitored for symptoms, were permitted to deplane and collect their baggage to continue on to their final destinations.

“Luckily, at that time there’s nobody in the airport,” Bustilloz described the atmosphere of the airport at midnight. “I think once everybody got off the plane they realized they weren’t at any great risk…It just felt like everyone had had a really long night. After that it was just a normal evening at the airport.”

Bustilloz said that the wary passengers all appeared to have calmed by the time they exited the plane, and all had set the precautionary face masks aside.

Less than nine hours after being transmitted to the hospital, MMH declared that extensive testing and consulting with CDC officials had ruled out Ebola, and issued a press release regarding the event.

“As a reminder, the two primary cues that would suggest the potential for this virus are a fever at or above 101.5 degrees Fahrenheit and recent travel to an endemic area where several Ebola cases have been confirmed,” the MMH press release states. “Over the course of this event, the patient in question never had a fever nor have they traveled to or from an endemic region.”

The patient has not been identified, however Bustilloz confirmed that her point of origin was Istanbul, Turkey, where she is reported to have stayed for a couple of months, before flying to London and connecting in Dallas to Midland. Whether or not she was traveling alone has not been released.

With the scare over, Bustilloz commends the response of the city of Midland Emergency Management Team. “Communication was really important throughout…” she said. “We drill all the time at the airport. Our emergency management officials are really versed in this. We have a lot of institutional knowledge among us.”

The patient will be held at MMH for the next 24 hours, where she will be monitored for any further symptoms. Should none present, she will be released.