A second health care worker at Texas Health Presbyterian Hospital in Dallas who cared for deceased Ebola patient Thomas Eric Duncan has contracted Ebola. Texas health department officials said early Wednesday morning that the unidentified Ebola patient reported a fever on Tuesday and was immediately isolated at the hospital.
A preliminary Ebola test performed at a Texas facility came back positive for the virus, and a confirming test will be performed by the CDC. The results should be available within the next 24-48 hours.
There were reportedly 76 health care workers who cared for Duncan while he was hospitalized. The first worker to contract the disease from contact with Duncan was announced on Sunday. The worker, Nina Pham, was later identified by her family and is currently hospitalized.
The CDC has blamed Pham contracting the disease on a breach in protocol. They have not yet commented on the most recent case.
According to the Texas Department of State Health Services, people they have been in contact with have already been identified.
Ebola is spread through direct contact with the bodily fluids of a sick person or exposure to certain contaminated objects, such as needles. The virus has killed over 4,000 people in several West African countries, including Liberia where Duncan came from. According to the CDC, it is infectious only when a sick person is showing symptoms, such as a fever.
