On Sunday afternoon, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) in Atlanta had confirmed that a Dallas hospital nurse, who had an extensive contact with an EBOLA patient in Texas, had tested positive during a preliminary blood test. The new case marked the second diagnosis and the first known transmission of the deadly virus in the US.
An official who is familiar with the case told CNN that the second EBOLA patient is a nurse at Texas Health Presbyterian Hospital in Dallas. She was involved in Thomas Eric Duncan's care, the first patient confirmed with the virus in the US, after he was placed in isolation.
According to the Associated Press, the healthcare worker was in full protective gear when she treated the first confirmed Dallas patient at Texas Presbyterian Hospital. Healthcare personnel in contact with Duncan were told to self-monitor for symptoms of the disease. And on Friday, the nurse reported a fever.
Officials said that before her trip to the emergency room, the nurse had not been at work for two days. A preliminary blood test was done at the state public health lab in Austin, and the positive result was received late Saturday evening, and was later confirmed by CDC late Sunday afternoon.
On the other hand, CDC Director Dr. Tom Frieden said that there had been a breach of protocol that led the nurse to be infected with EBOLA while treating the patient. He also added that all of the health workers who treated Duncan were now believed to have been exposed.
In a Washington Post report, Frieden said that taking off personal protective equipment such as gloves, gowns, face masks, goggles are considered as one of the biggest areas of contamination and risk. In line with the CDC guidelines, protective equipment must be removed in a particular order, without any of the material touching the wearer's skin, mucus membrane or the exterior of the clothing.
Texas Health Resources Chief Clinical officer Dr. Daniel Varga said in a news conference on Sunday that the nurse is currently in a stable condition. Meanwhile Duncan, the first Dallas patient to be diagnosed with Ebola in the United States had died Wednesday.
Texas Presbyterian Hospital has stopped accepting emergency room patients and people who've come in contact with the EBOLA-infected nurse are being monitored with symptoms. The Dallas Fire Department has also cleaned and disinfected public spaces in her apartment building and authorities are keeping people out of the area.
According to a Forbes report, several other hospitals have treated EBOLA patient without workers contracting the deadly virus including Emory Hospital in Atlanta, which have treated three EBOLA patients in the past 10 weeks. No Emory personnel have contracted the disease.
The White House said that President Barack Obama requested the CDC to move as quickly as possible to investigate the incident. CDC will investigate how the workers took off protective gears, because removing it incorrectly can lead to possible contamination. Investigators will also look at dialysis and intubation, which is the insertion of a breathing tube in a patient's airway, and both procedures have the potential to spread the EBOLA virus.
The EBOLA-infected nurse in Dallas, Texas is the second confirmed diagnosis. And it is the first known transmission of the virus in the US.
"We knew a second case could be a reality, and we've been preparing for this possibility. We are broadening our team in Dallas and working with extreme diligence to prevent further spread," stated by Texas Department of State Health Services Commissioner Dr. David Lakey.
Dr. Dennis Maki, University of Wisconsin-Madison infectious disease specialist and former head of hospital infection control, said that every emergency room needs to be ready to isolate and take infection control and precautions since no one can control where an EBOLA patient might show up. However, he added that only large hospitals such as those linked with major universities really have the equipment and manpower to deal with EBOLA properly.
The new EBOLA patient in Dallas, Texas intensifies concern for the safety of health care workers. It is for the reason that they are the most susceptible even if wearing protective gears. And the virus is only contagious or can spread through close contact with a symptomatic person.
Amidst the increasing fears, frustrations and unanswered questions about the new case in Texas, Dallas County Judge Clay Jenkins said that latest diagnosis emphasizes that those who treats EBOLA patients are the ones most at risk for being infected by the virus.
According to the World Health Organization, over 4,000 people have already died in the ongoing EBOLA outbreak centered in West Africa. And the deadly virus has slowly begun to spread around the world.
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