A second Texas healthcare worker who treated the first diagnosed Ebola patient in the U.S. has tested positive for the deadly virus, according to officials.
“A second healthcare worker at Texas Presbyterian Hospital who provided care for the index patient has tested positive for Ebola according to preliminary tests performed overnight by the Texas Department of State Health Services’ laboratory,” said the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention early Wednesday.
“The patient was isolated after an initial report of a fever and remains so now. Confirmation testing at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s laboratory is being done,” the agency added. “The health care worker was being monitored for fever and symptoms.”
The report of another healthcare worker contracting the virus comes just days after nurse Nina Pham tested positive for Ebola. Both individuals cared for Liberian national Thomas Eric Duncan at Texas Presbyterian Hospital, who recently died from the disease.
CDC officials attempted to downplay concerns of a wider outbreak, even as the multiple Ebola cases have exposed central flaws in the U.S. response.
“As we have said before, because of our ongoing investigation, it is not unexpected that there would be additional exposures,” the CDC said. “An additional healthcare worker testing positive for Ebola is a serious concern, and the CDC has already taken active steps to minimize the risk to healthcare workers and the patient.”
Health officials are monitoring additional people who came in contact with Duncan, but Ebola symptoms take up to 21 days to show.
