Dallas Ebola tab totals $155,000, including $26,884 for quarantined dog

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City of Dallas

Bentley, nurse Nina Pham's King Charles Spaniard, cost the City of Dallas $26,000 to quarantine.

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Bill Hethcock

Staff Writer- Dallas Business Journal

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Ebola-related expenses incurred by the city of Dallas totaled $155,000, including more than $26,000 spent on the care of the dog of one of the nurses who came down with the disease.

The tab includes spending by the Office of Emergency Management, Dallas Fire-Rescue, Dallas Police Department, Dallas Animal Services, Dallas Water Utilities and Equipment and Building Services.

This is just the city's bill and does not include money spent by Dallas County, the state, the federal government and other agencies. Nor does it include lost money from businesses and tourism — things such as cancelled flights and people who decided to dine in instead of going out to a restaurant.

The city said grants and private donations will cover $19,000 of the $26,884 spent for the care of nurse Nina Pham's dog, Bentley. The dog was quarantined at the decommissioned Hensley Field.

Hazmat response was the city's biggest expense, at $58,697, followed by $18,824 in "hireback costs for paramedics for 21 days."

The city is seeking reimbursement for some of these expenses from the state of Texas

The Ebola outbreak began in early October when Thomas Eric Duncan, of Liberia, was diagnosed with the disease at Texas Health Presbyterian Dallas hospital. He died of the disease there on Oct. 8.

Pham and another nurse who cared for Duncan, Amber Vinson, later were diagnosed with the disease and were eventually transferred to hospitals in other cities where they recovered.

Bill covers health care, law, education and general assignments. Subscribe to our email newsletters.