Liberia to Prosecute US Ebola Patient Thomas Duncan

Liberian President Ellen Johnson Sirleaf told Canadian public broadcaster CBC on Thursday that she would consult with lawyers to decide what to do with Duncan when he returns home. Johnson Sirleaf told CBC:

"The fact that he knew (he was exposed to the virus) and he left the country is unpardonable, quite frankly. I just hope that nobody else gets infected. With the U.S. doing so much to help us fight Ebola, and again one of our compatriots didn't take due care, and so, he's gone there and put some Americans in a state of fear, and put them at some risk, and so I feel very saddened by that and very angry with him, to tell you the truth."

"We wish him a speedy recovery; we await his arrival in Liberia to face prosecution" Binyah Kesselly, chairman of the board of directors of the Liberia Airport Authority said.

Duncan is accused of lying to health officials when he filled a questionnaire before leaving the country last month saying that none of his relatives were sick. But investigations by the health ministry showed he had an Ebola infected relative whom he had taken to a hospital on a wheelbarrow but was turned back from the hospital after being told they lacked bed space for his ill relative.
Duncan, said to be in a serious condition in a Dallas hospital, is the 1st case of Ebola to be diagnosed on US soil.

Before leaving Liberia, Duncan had answered no to a question about whether he had touched the body of someone who died in an area affected by the disease. CNN is also reporting that Duncan's family in the States said he hadn't mentioned any exposure to Ebola in Liberia. His girlfriend says he told her he hadn't been in contact with anyone with Ebola.

Wilfred Smallwood, Duncan's half-brother, told CNN on Thursday that he doesn't believe Duncan knew he had Ebola when he left Liberia for the United States. But he said it isn't out of the ordinary to come to the assistance of suffering people. Asked about whether Duncan had contact with Ebola patients, he said, "(it's) what we do in Liberia -- our tradition is to help somebody who needs help."

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