Physical Wellness

Second Healthcare Worker in Dallas Tests Ebola Postive

By Peter R | Update Date: Oct 15, 2014 05:26 PM EDT

A second healthcare worked who cared for Thomas Eric Duncan, the Liberian man who died of Ebola in Dallas last week, tested positive for the deadly virus.

News of the infection comes on the heels of another healthcare worker, Nina Pham who also cared for Duncan, testing positive a few days ago. Fox News identified the second healthcare worked as 29-year old Amber Vinson working at the Texas Health Presbyterian Hospital where Liberian Duncan succumbed last week. Before his death, Duncan was said to have had contact with 80 or 100 people including healthcare workers.

"Like Nina Pham this is a heroic person, a person who is dedicating her life to helping others and is a servant leader," Dallas County Judge Clay Jenkins reportedly said.

Officials at the hospital said that Vinson was isolated within 90 minutes of her reporting fever. However she had boarded a commercial flight on Monday from Cleveland to Dallas.

Center for Disease Control announced that it is reaching it to all those who travelled on that plane with Vinson, though exposure to the virus was low as Vinson was not symptomatic when she was travelling.

"Because of the proximity in time between the evening flight and first report of illness the following morning, CDC is reaching out to passengers who flew on Frontier Airlines flight 1143 Cleveland to Dallas/Fort Worth October 13," CNN quoted CDC's statement. CDC director Tom Frieden informed that those healthcare workers who cared for Duncan were under self-monitoring, and were not allowed to travel on commercial flights.

Meanwhile the National Nurses United, nurses association in the US alleged that the Texas hospital was ill-equipped to deal with Ebola and did not follow protocols when treating Ducnan. It alleged that Duncan was made sit in a room with other patients and it allowed hazardous wastes to pile.

"The nurses strongly feel unsupported, unprepared, lied to, and deserted to handle the situation on their own," the association said in a statement according to Yahoo News.

Before his death, Duncan is said to have experienced severe vomiting and diarrhea which exposed healthcare workers to Ebola-laden body fluids. 

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