(15 Oct 2014) A second health care worker at a Dallas hospital who provided care for the first Ebola patient diagnosed in the US has tested positive for the disease, the Texas Department of State Health Services said Wednesday.
The worker at Texas Health Presbyterian Hospital was monitoring herself for symptoms of Ebola, Dallas County Judge Clay Jenkins said.
The unidentified woman reported a fever on Tuesday.
She was in isolation within 90 minutes, Jenkins said.
Health officials said the worker was among those who took care of Thomas Eric Duncan, who was diagnosed with Ebola after coming to the US from Liberia. Duncan died on 8 October.
The department said a preliminary Ebola test was conducted late on Tuesday at a state public health laboratory in Austin, Texas, and came back positive during the night.
Confirmatory testing was being conducted at the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in Atlanta.
Officials said the health care worker was interviewed to quickly identify any contacts or potential exposures. It said others who had interactions with the worker or possible exposure to the virus will be monitored.
It's not clear how the second health care worker contracted the virus, and authorities declined to say what position she holds at the hospital or the type of care she provided.
"We're looking at every element of our personal protective equipment and infection control inside the hospital - we don't have an answer right now, but we're looking at every possible angle around this," said Dr. Daniel Varga, the hospital's chief clinical officer.
Officials have said they don't know how the first health worker, a nurse, became infected. But the second case pointed to lapses beyond how one individual may have donned and removed personal protective garb.
Meanwhile, officials say they are being diligent to notify residents in the Dallas apartment complex where the nurse lived. Calls were made early on Wednesday morning, and Dallas Mayor Mike Rawlings said he had personally spoken with residents.
"It definitely takes my breath away to like I said you know it's such a deadly disease and people are starting to get it more now," said Sam Roundtree who lives in the complex. "I don't know how."
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