A health care worker in Texas who had “extensive contact” on “multiple occasions” with an Ebola patient who later died has tested positive for the virus, health officials said Sunday. The news marks the first known case of the disease being contracted or transmitted in the U.S.
A statement posted on the Texas Department of State Health Service’s website said “confirmatory testing will be conducted by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in Atlanta.” Results of the test are expected to be announced later in the day.
A source familiar with the case told CNN the health care worker is a nurse who treated Thomas Eric Duncan, who died Wednesday in Dallas. She was reportedly involved with his second visit to the hospital when he was admitted for treatment. The nurse was wearing protective gear (gown, gloves, mask and shield) as prescribed by the CDC.
“At some point, there was a breach in protocol, and that breach in protocol resulted in this infection,” said Dr. Tom Frieden, the director of the CDC, at a news conference Sunday. “The [Ebola treatment] protocols work. … But we know that even a single lapse or breach can result in infection.”
Officials said the nurse reported a low-grade fever Friday night and was isolated and referred for testing. Chief clinical officer Dan Varga said she is in stable condition. Officials have already interviewed the patient and are identifying any contacts or potential exposures.
The World Health Organization says Ebola spreads through close contact with a symptomatic person’s bodily fluids, such as blood, sweat, vomit, feces, urine, saliva or semen (blood, feces and vomit are the most infectious fluids). The fluids must have an entry point like a cut or scrape. Someone can also contract the disease by touching the nose, mouth or eyes with contaminated hands, or by being splashed.
Photo courtesy of Sean Gallup/Getty Images
Hazardous materials units have cleaned out the nurse’s car and will work on her apartment Sunday. A unit has also cleaned up and decontaminated the public areas of her apartment complex.
Authorities are keeping people out of the area and are talking to nearby residents.