Cops: Texas student allegedly created false Ebola scare

FRISCO, Texas - A high school student in Frisco, Texas was arrested after police say he posted an article on Twitter containing inaccurate reports of Ebola cases in the area, reports CBS DFW.

The false news article, which the station reports appears to have been a doctored image from a local news site, specifically mentioned Frisco schools, prompting multiple inquiries to the school district from concerned parents. Numerous students also stayed home instead of attending class, according to the station.

Frisco Lieutenant Jason Jenkins said the false article "caused an unjustified fear within our community and within the Frisco Independent School District (ISD)."

"We are proud of our officers and the Frisco ISD staff who worked fast to prove it was false," Jenkins added.

Frisco is about 25 miles north of Dallas, where the first Ebola diagnosis in the U.S. was made earlier this week.

Thomas Eric Duncan arrived in Dallas on Sept. 20 from West Africa and fell ill a few days later. He is currently in serious condition and in isolation at Texas Health Presbyterian Hospital in Dallas.

Federal and Texas health officials are reaching out to about 100 people to determine if they have had contact with the patient, reports the station.

Five Dallas ISD students from five different campuses were reportedly forced to stay home and are under observation after a possible exposure to the Ebola virus. Dallas Independent School District Superintendent Mike Miles says that school attendance at the five schools dropped from 95 to 86 percent on Thursday.