A Second Health Care Worker Tests Positive for Ebola

A second health care worker who helped care for Thomas Eric Duncan has tested positive for Ebola. The worker, who was being monitored since another worker, Nina Pham, was diagnosed earlier in the week, reported a fever on Tuesday. She was admitted Texas Presbyterian Hospital, where Duncan, the Liberian man who brought Ebola to the United States, was diagnosed, and ultimately died. Nurse Nina Pham received a blood transfusion from recently recovered American Ebola survivor, Kent Brantly, who had been working in West Africa with Ebola victims. Pham is said to be “feeling better.”

 

Texas Presbyterian Hospital is under investigation for initially letting Thomas Eric Duncan go home, even after he told a nurse he had visited a known virus hotspot. They are also under scrutiny for not ensuring health care workers wore full protective gear when caring for Duncan as his symptoms worsened.

The most recently diagnosed nurse, whose name has not yet been released, is the second person who has contracted Ebola in the United States. She was immediately put into isolation and her contacts are now being monitored as well Seventy-six health care workers who cared for Duncan are being monitored for Ebola symptoms. The Texas Department of Health Services did the initial testing, although The Centers for Disease Control has yet to confirm the diagnosis, and more tests will be done today.

Stay tuned for updates.

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