A Texan health worker who treated Ebola victim Thomas Eric Duncan before he died is also infected with the virus, according to a preliminary test.
The unnamed worker, who is in a stable condition in an isolation ward, wore full protective gear while treating Duncan, a Dallas health official said.
If confirmed, this is the first known transmission of Ebola on US soil.
Responding to the news, a top federal health official said there had been a clear breach of safety protocol.
Duncan, who caught the virus in his native Liberia, died on Wednesday.
The current Ebola outbreak, concentrated in Liberia, Guinea and Sierra Leone, has resulted in more than 8,300 confirmed and suspected cases, and at least 4,033 deaths.
No details of the health worker's identity or position at Texas Health Presbyterian Hospital were given, in accordance with family wishes.
Dr Daniel Varga, of the Texas Health Resource, said the worker had worn a gown, gloves, mask and shield when providing care to Duncan during his second and final hospital admission.
The hospital, he said, was still confident that the precautions put in place would protect workers when interacting with patients at the hospital.
But Dr Tom Frieden, head of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), said there had been a clear breach of protocol.
He told US broadcaster CBS in an interview that the CDC would investigate the measures taken to try to keep Duncan alive in its investigation into how the health worker had become infected.
All those who treated Duncan are now considered to be potentially exposed, he added, saying he was "deeply concerned" about the new infection.
"I think the fact that we don't know of a breach in protocol is concerning because clearly there was a breach in protocol."
Mike Rawlings, the mayor of Dallas, said steps had been taken to decontaminate common areas in the patient's apartment complex as well as the patient's car.
"Health officials have interviewed the patient and are identifying any contacts or potential exposures," Texas health care services said.
More tests on the US health care worker are being carried out at the CDC in Atlanta.
The health worker reported a low-grade fever on Friday night and was isolated and referred for testing, officials said. Preliminary test results were received late on Saturday.
Judge Clay Jenkins, chief executive of Dallas County, said the infected health worker was a "heroic person".
"This is obviously bad news, it is not news that should bring about panic," he added.
Duncan tested positive in Dallas on 30 September, 10 days after arriving on a flight from Monrovia via Brussels.
He had become ill a few days after arriving in the US, and went to the Texas Health Presbyterian Hospital in Dallas with a high fever.
But despite telling medical staff he had been in Liberia, he was sent home with painkillers and antibiotics.
Duncan was later put into an isolation unit at the hospital but died despite being given an experimental drug.
Some 50 people who had direct or indirect contact with Duncan are already being monitored in case they develop symptoms.
BBC News
No comments:
Post a Comment