Thomas Eric Duncan, the first person to be diagnosed with Ebola in the US, has died according to the hospital where he was being treated.

"It is with profound sadness and heartfelt disappointment that we must inform you of the death of Thomas Eric Duncan this morning at 7:51 am," hospital spokesman Wendell Watson said in a statement on Wednesday.

Mr Duncan became ill after he arrived in Texas from his home in Liberia two weeks ago on 20 September.

Due to the nature of the deadly virus he showed no symptoms when he passed through an airport health screening on his way to the US, but fell sick a few days - suffering from a fever, headache and abdominal pain.

Fearful of his condition, Mr Duncan visited the emergency room ofTexas Health Presbyterian in Dallas on 24 September, but was sent home. The hospital has since acknowledged that Mr Duncan had told them during this assessment that he had recently been to West Africa.

On 28 September he was admitted to hospital, where he was kept in isolation. By Saturday, Mr Duncan's condition had worsened, escalating from serious to critical.

His death comes after doctors were unable to treat him the experimental drug ZMapp, after supplies ran out. The drug had been linked with the survival of American doctors and aid workers. However, there is no approved treatment or vaccine against the virus.

See the Ebola outbreak mapped Show all 7 1 /7 See the Ebola outbreak mapped See the Ebola outbreak mapped 25 March 2014 This outbreak of the Ebola