A day after a nurse who treated an Ebola-stricken patient in Dallas was diagnosed with the virus,public health officials are still trying to figure out how many health-care workers may have had similar exposure. <\/p>\n
It is still unclear how, exactly, the nurse at Texas Health Presbyterian Hospital Dallas became the first person to contract the virus in the United States, said Thomas Frieden, director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. <\/p>\n
But ifone health-care workerwas infected,it is possible other people could have been infected as well, Frieden said during a briefing with reporters on Monday. <\/p>\n
This infection substantially changes how public health authorities will respond to the virus in the United States, he said. <\/p>\n
We have to rethink the way we address Ebola infection control, becauseeven a single infection is unacceptable, Frieden said. <\/p>\n
Thomas Frieden, director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, provided an update Monday to the investigation into the spread of the Ebola virus to a nurse at a Dallas hospital. Frieden also apologized for his initial remarks about the nurses infection, which seemed to blame the nurse or other health care workers for the infection. (AP) <\/p>\n
The nurse remains in stable condition at the same hospital that treated Thomas Eric Duncan, a Liberian man who was diagnosed with the virusand died last week. Shehad one and only one contact during the period when she may have been infectious, a person who is being monitored and has exhibited no symptoms of Ebola.In addition, the 48 people who are known to have had possible contact with Duncan before his hospitalization continue to show no symptoms, Frieden said. <\/p>\n
Still, the uncertainty about how the nurse was infected and the fact that she was infected while Duncan was isolated at a hospital raises more questions about how prepared hospitals and health-care workers are to deal with the additional Ebola cases that authorities say are likely to occur. <\/p>\n
We need to consider the possibility that there could be additional cases, particularly among the health-care workers that cared for [Duncan] when he was so ill, Frieden said. We would not be surprised if we did see additional cases in the health-care workers who also provided care to [Duncan]. <\/p>\n
Figuring out exactly what protocols need to be strengthened and who else may have been exposed is particularly difficult because it is not known how the nurse was infected. TheCDC is looking at every aspect of patient treatment, rangingfrom what types of equipment can beused to how protective gear is placed on and off, to try and determine if the current guidelines are strong enough. <\/p>\n
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CDC doesnt know how many health-care workers in Dallas may have been exposed to Ebola; AP says its about 70 people<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" A day after a nurse who treated an Ebola-stricken patient in Dallas was diagnosed with the virus,public health officials are still trying to figure out how many health-care workers may have had similar exposure. It is still unclear how, exactly, the nurse at Texas Health Presbyterian Hospital Dallas became the first person to contract the virus in the United States, said Thomas Frieden, director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. But ifone health-care workerwas infected,it is possible other people could have been infected as well, Frieden said during a briefing with reporters on Monday Continue reading