The Ebola scare in Texas continues this week as a second health care worker who aided in the treatment of Thomas Eric Duncan has tested positive for the virus.
The unnamed nurse first complained of a fever on Tuesday evening and was quickly isolated at Texas Presbyterian Hospital in Dallas where the first two U.S. caes of Ebola were also treated. While the nurse tested positive in preliminary Ebola tests, more testing is being conducted to confirm that her symptoms are due to Ebola.
Seventy five health care workers that came in contact with Duncan, in addition to this second case, are currently being monitored by the Center for Disease Control. Although none of these workers are being held in quarantine and are free to see their families if they choose, there are provided facilities that allow isolation if desired. Officials plan to decontaminate the nurse's apartment and car this afternoon.
"I think there are two things that I hearken back to this: The only way that we were going to beat this is person by person, moment by moment, detail by detail," Dallas Mayor Mike Rawlings said at a press conference Wednesday morning. "The second is we want to minimize rumors and maximize facts. We want to deal with facts, not fear."
Nina Pham, the first nurse diagnosed with Ebola at the hospital, and the first contracted case of Ebola in the U.S., is currently in good condition, according to reports Tuesday evening.
"Like Nina Pham, this is a heroic person, a person who has dedicated her life ... to serving others," Dallas County Judge Clay Jenkins said at the press conference. "This is a person who is dealing with this diagnosis with the grit and grace and determination like Nina has dealt with this diagnosis."
The 48 other non-healthcare people who came in contact with Thomas Eric Duncan during his stay in the U.S. are nearing the end of their 21-day monitoring program and none are showing signs of Ebola.
