DALLAS (AP) — A top federal health official says authorities should consider requiring Ebola patients to be sent only to specialized “containment” hospitals.
Dr. Anthony Fauci (FOW’-chee), who heads the National institute of Allergy and Infectious Disease, told ABC’s “Good Morning America” that it’s something that “should be seriously considered.”
Health officials are stepping-up the monitoring of hospital workers in Texas who provided care to the first person diagnosed with Ebola in the U.S. One of those workers became infected with the virus, despite wearing protective gear.
It raises questions about the assurances given by health officials in the United States that the disease will be contained, and that any American hospital should be able to treat it.
The patient who was being treated, Thomas Duncan, had traveled from Liberia to visit family. He didn’t get sick until he arrived in the United States. He died Wednesday.
Police have been knocking on doors and making automated phone calls in the neighborhood where the health care worker lives. But Dallas authorities are assuring residents that the risk is confined to those who have had close contact with the two Ebola patients.
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156-a-16-(Dr. Anthony Fauci (FOW’-chee), director, National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Disease at the National Institutes of Health, in AP interview)-“health care workers”-Dr. Anthony Fauci with the National Institutes of Health recommends a two-person buddy system for health care workers using protective gear to interact with Ebola patients. ((note cut length)) (13 Oct 2014)
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154-a-15-(Dr. Anthony Fauci (FOW’-chee), director, National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Disease at the National Institutes of Health, in AP interview)-“of having Ebola”-Dr. Anthony Fauci with the National Institutes of Health says all U.S. hospitals must be prepared to rapidly diagnose and isolate any Ebola cases that turn up. (13 Oct 2014)
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APPHOTO TXBW101: Police tape and a “No Trespassing” notice are posted, Monday, Oct. 13, 2014, in Dallas, at the apartment of a healthcare worker who treated Ebola patient Thomas Eric Duncan and tested positive for the disease. (AP Photo/Brandon Wade) (13 Oct 2014)
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APPHOTO TXMO122: A hazmat worker packs up a barrel while cleaning outside an apartment building of a hospital worker, Sunday, Oct. 12, 2014, in Dallas. The Texas health care worker, who was in full protective gear when they provided hospital care for Ebola patient Thomas Eric Duncan, who later died, has tested positive for the virus and is in stable condition, health officials said Sunday. (AP Photo/LM Otero) (11 Oct 2014)
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