On Sept. 30, 2014, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention confirmed that Eric Duncan, a Liberian national visiting Dallas was diagnosed with Ebola in Dallas, Texas. Duncan had not shown any symptoms upon arrival ten days earlier but developed them approximately four days later. Three other cases were reported in the following weeks.

Duncan first sought medical care at the Texas Health Presbyterian hospital in Dallas on Sept. 26, where he was prescribed antibiotics and sent home, but returned two days later when his condition deteriorated and was admitted. On Oct. 8th, Duncan succumbed to the Ebola virus, sending the nation into high alert with the possibility of an infectious disease pandemic in the U.S.