DALLAS (AP) — A “breach of protocol” at the hospital where Ebola victim Thomas Eric Duncan was treated before his death led to the infection of a health care worker with the deadly virus, and federal health officials say other caregivers could potentially be exposed.
Dr. Tom Frieden, head of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, says the hospital worker wore protective gear while treating the Liberian patient, and she has been unable to point how the breach might have occurred.
The CDC confirmed today that the woman tested positive for Ebola. It’s the first known case of the disease being contracted or transmitted in the U.S.
The missteps with the first patient and now the infection of a caregiver raised questions about assurances given by U.S. health officials that any American hospital should be able to treat an Ebola patient and that the disease would be contained.
The White House says President Barack Obama has asked the CDC to move as quickly as possible in investigating the incident.
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