DALLAS — A Texas health care worker who was in full protective gear while providing hospital care for an Ebola patient who later died has tested positive for the virus and is in stable condition, health officials said Sunday. If the preliminary diagnosis is confirmed, it would be the first known case of the disease being contracted or transmitted in the U.S.
Dr. Daniel Varga, of the Texas Health Resources, said during a news conference Sunday that the worker wore a gown, gloves, mask and shield when providing care to Thomas Eric Duncan during his second visit to Texas Health Presbyterian Hospital. Varga did not identify the worker and says the family of the worker has "requested total privacy."
Dr. Varga says patient was wearing protective gear when interacting with Mr. Duncan— TexasHealthResources (@texashealth) October 12, 2014
“We’re very concerned” that health worker who followed precautions still contracted Ebola from patient in Dallas, Dr. Dan Varga says.— MashableLIVE (@MashableLive) October 12, 2014
An official who is familiar with the latest Texas case tells CNN’s @elizcohencnn that the second #Ebola patient is a female nurse— Isa Soares (@IsaCNN) October 12, 2014
Varga says the health care worker reported a fever Friday night as part of a self-monitoring regimen required by the Atlanta-based Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. He said another person also remains in isolation, and the hospital has stopped accepting new emergency room patients.
Duncan, the first person diagnosed with Ebola in the U.S., died Wednesday in Dallas.
"We knew a second case could be a reality, and we've been preparing for this possibility," Dr. David Lakey, commissioner of the Texas Department of State Health Services, said in a statement Sunday. "We are broadening our team in Dallas and working with extreme diligence to prevent further spread."
Mayor Mike Rawlings says citizens of Dallas are safe.— MashableLIVE (@MashableLive) October 12, 2014
Health officials have interviewed the patient and are identifying any contacts or potential exposures. They said people who had contact with the health care worker after symptoms emerged will be monitored based on the nature of their interactions and the potential they were exposed to the virus.
Dallas hazmat unit has cleaned common areas of an apartment complex, apparently where new Ebola patient lived.— MashableLIVE (@MashableLive) October 12, 2014
Officials said they also received information that there may be a pet in the health care worker's apartment, and they have a plan in place to care for the animal. They do not believe the pet has signs of having contracted Ebola.
Judge Clay Jenkins, Dallas County's top administrative official, said the unidentified health care worker is a "heroic" person who "was proud to provide care to Mr. Duncan." He said the health care worker's family has requested privacy because they are "going through a great ordeal."
More than 4,000 people have died in the ongoing Ebola epidemic centered in West Africa, according to World Health Organization figures published Friday. Almost all of those deaths have been in the three worst-affected countries, Liberia, Sierra Leone and Guinea.
Ebola spreads through close contact with a symptomatic person's bodily fluids, such as blood, sweat, vomit, feces, urine, saliva or semen. Those fluids must have an entry point, like a cut or scrape or someone touching the nose, mouth or eyes with contaminated hands, or being splashed. The World Health Organization says blood, feces and vomit are the most infectious fluids, while the virus is found in saliva mostly once patients are severely ill and the whole live virus has never been culled from sweat.