Hospital worker has Ebola
A “breach of protocol” at the Dallas hospital led to the infection of a worker.
DALLAS — 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 other caregivers could potentially be exposed, federal health officials said Sunday.
The hospital worker, a woman who was not identified by officials, wore protective gear while treating the Liberian patient, and she has been unable to point to how the breach might have occurred, said Dr. Tom Frieden, head of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Duncan was the first person in the U. S. diagnosed with Ebola.
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.
At a briefing in Atlanta, Frieden said that at some point during Duncan’s treatment, “there was a breach in protocol, and that breach in protocol resulted in this infection.”
Dallas police stood guard outside her apartment complex and told people not to go inside. Officers also knocked on doors, made automated phone calls and passed out fliers to notify people within a four- block radius about the situation, although Dallas authorities assured residents the risk was confined to those who have had close contact with the two Ebola patients.
The worker wore a gown, gloves, mask and shield while she cared for Duncan during his second visit to Texas Health Presbyterian Hospital, said Dr. Daniel Varga of Texas Health Resources, which runs the hospital.
Duncan, who arrived in the U. S. from Liberia to visit family Sept. 20, first sought medical care for fever and abdominal pain Sept. 25. He told a nurse he had traveled from Africa, but he was sent home. He returned Sept. 28 and was placed in isolation because of suspected Ebola. He died Wednesday.
The health care worker reported a fever Friday night as part of a self- monitoring regimen required by the CDC, Varga said. Another person who was described as a “close contact” of the health worker has been proactively placed in isolation, he added.
Among the things the CDC will investigate is how the workers took off protective gear, because removing it incorrectly can lead to contamination. Investigators will also look at dialysis and intubation — the insertion of a breathing tube in a patient’s airway.