US Ebola patient in critical condition

Thomas Eric Duncan, the Liberian citizen who was diagnosed with Ebola while visiting the United States, is "fighting for his life," according to Thomas Frieden, Head of the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).

Frieden confirmed that all doses of the experimental anti-Ebola drug ZMapp had run out, leaving Duncan with few options except an even newer experimental drug that could potentially make him sicker instead of healthier.

Duncan's is the first known case of Ebola in the United States. Some 38 people Duncan may have come into contact with are being monitored.

Dr. Anthony Fauci of the National Institutes of Health thinks an outbreak like the one in Western Africa is unlikely in nations such the US however. Fauci said on Sunday that the poor infrastructure and lack of resources in nations like Liberia were to blame for the rapid spread of the virus.

Ebola discrimination

Near Dallas, where Duncan is hospitalized, there have been reports of discriminatory behavior towards African immigrants and their children.

Local politician Eric Williams told the Reuters news agency that African children were called "Ebola kids" and criticized the call by some U.S. politicians to ban travel from the most-affected countries, Liberia, Guinea, and Sierra Leone.

"We have one diagnosed cased and now there is a list of people who want to shut the borders to Africa," Williams added.

Possible spread of the virus to Europe

The risk of the disease's spread outside of West Africa is causing fear in many disparate parts of the world.

In Europe, virus expert Derek Gatherer of Lancaster University told Reuters that the Ebola outbreak, the worst in history, could reach Europe by the end of October.

Gatherer has been tracking the epidemic since its beginning last spring. His hypothesis is that the virus is most likely to hit France because of the linguistic connection to several of the hard-hit countries with whom it shares busy travel routes.

Although Britain and France have each found one confirmed case of Ebola that was then cured, Gatherer's study implies that the number could be larger because people may travel while unknowingly carrying the disease, which can have an incubation period of up to 21 days.

"If this thing continues to rage on in West Africa…it's only a matter of time before one of these cases ends up on a plane to Europe," the scientist said.

Ebola-like Marburg virus confirmed in Uganda

Elsewhere in Africa, in the southern nation of Uganda, a man has died of the Ebola-like Marburg virus. Similarly to Ebola, Marburg causes bleeding, fever, vomiting and diarrhea. It also has very high fatality rates, ranging from 25 to 80 percent. The 30-year-old Ugandan died 11 days after falling ill, and two other people he came into contact with are showing signs of the disease and have been quarantined.

Ugandan Prime Minister Ruhakana Rugunda appeared confident that his government could handle the crisis, however.

He tweeted: "Uganda has previously successfully handled similar situations of health threats involving hemorrhagic fevers," possibly referring to the successful containment of an outbreak of Marburg in 2010 which killed ten people.

The Ebola virus has claimed nearly 3,500 lives since March.

es/kms (AP, AFP, Reuters)