The Texas hospital worker who has become the
first person to contract Ebola on US soil has been
identified as 26-year-old Nina Pham.
Multiple media reports said Ms Pham had recently
completed the nursing program at Texas Christian
University.
She treated Ebola victim and Liberia native
Thomas Eric Duncan multiple times during his
hospital stay and had extensive contact with him,
but had worn extra safety gear including a mask,
face shield, gown and gloves according to CDC
guidelines, officials have said.
Duncan was hospitalized September 28 and died
of Ebola last week.
The US must rethink its approach to controlling
the Ebola virus after a Texas health care worker
was infected with the often deadly virus, health
authorities have said.
“We have to rethink the way we approach Ebola
infection control, because even a single infection
is unacceptable,” said Centers for Disease Control
and Prevention director Tom Frieden.
Frieden spoke to reporters a day after Texas
Health Presbyterian Hospital Dallas announced
one of its staff members had contracted Ebola —
marking the first case of infection inside the
United States.
However, he gave few specifics about what
precisely was going to change.
“What we will be doing in the coming days and
weeks is doubling down on the amount of
education, training, outreach and support we
provide,” Frieden said.
He also said experts still don’t know exactly how
the woman was infected while caring for Duncan.
Frieden said CDC workers are still interviewing
other health workers at the hospital to see if
anyone else is experiencing Ebola symptoms or is
at risk of infection.”We have to consider the
possibility that there could be additional cases
particularly among health care workers,” said
Frieden, adding that he would “unfortunately not
be surprised” to see more such cases.
A prominent nursing group, National Nurses
United, lashed back at the CDC on Sunday,
saying that hospitals needed to provide better
protection to health care workers.
Holding signs that said “Stop Blaming Nurses” at
a press conference, members called for proper
training against Ebola and hazardous materials
suits to guard against the virus.
A spokesman for the group told AFP that nurses
want access to hazmat suits, and said three
quarters of nurses polled said they had not been
briefed by their hospitals on how to handle an
Ebola case.
Frieden said Sunday that a “breach of protocol”
was the reason for the infection of the woman
who helped care for Duncan.
On Monday, he apologized for appearing to place
the blame on her when he cited a lapse of safety
procedures.
“Some interpreted that as finding fault with the
hospital or the healthcare workers, and I am sorry
if that was the impression given. It was certainly
not my intention,” said Frieden, telling reporters
he felt “awful” upon learning of the case.
“All of us have to work together to do whatever is
possible to reduce the risk that any other
healthcare worker becomes infected.”
President Barack Obama met Monday with
members of his public health and national
security team to receive an update on the
response to the diagnosis of the second Ebola
case in Dallas, Texas.
Ebola has killed more than 4,000 people in West
Africa since the start of the year, and is spread
through close contact with bodily fluids.
Frieden said the latest Texas case “doesn’t
change the fact that we know how Ebola spreads.
It doesn’t change the fact that we know how to
take care of Ebola safely.
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