African immigrants in US fear a backlash from the Dallas Ebola case
African immigrants living in Dallas say they are being treated differently
The first man on American soil to be diagnosed with Ebola is now "fighting for his life" according to doctors as it has emerged many African immigrants in the US are facing a backlash.
Liberian Thomas Duncan's condition has deteriorated in the last 24 hours and since it was revealed he's being treated in Dallas, Texas, the public have been on high alert over concerns that the worst ever epidemic of the disease could spread from West Africa where it began in March.
Dr Tom Frieden, director of the Centres for Disease Control in Atlanta, said: "The man in Dallas, who is fighting for his life, is the only patient to develop Ebola in the United States."
A Liberian who asked to be called Sekou, fearful that he and other West African immigrants were going to face bias in the United States because of the sick man, said: "Some people around here see us as bringing the disease and that's not right."
Because many Americans have little knowledge of Africa's geography and the politics of countries on the continent, some African immigrants said they have felt a backlash because of the infection as some Americans could not distinguish Liberia in the west of the continent from Libya in the north.
Many immigrants are also quick to thank the US for taking them in, but say handshakes were fewer and curious glances more frequent after the Ebola discovery.
The World Health Organisation on Friday updated its Ebola death toll to at least 3,439 out of 7,492 suspected, probable and confirmed cases. The epidemic has hit hardest in impoverished Liberia, Sierra Leone and Guinea.