Another health care worker in Texas has tested positive for the deadly Ebola virus, a week after a 26-year-old nurse contracted the disease from a Liberian national, Thomas Duncan, who died of the disease in the hospital earlier this month.
"A second health care worker at Texas Health Presbyterian Hospital who provided care for the first Ebola patient diagnosed in the United States has tested positive for the disease.The health care worker reported a fever Tuesday and was immediately isolated at the hospital," a statement by the Texas Department of State Health Services on its website said.
United States health authorities scrambled to stop the spread of the virus, as the second case of transmission came on the day when the World Health Organisation warned that the Ebola crisis could escalate to dangerous proportions.
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"An additional health care worker testing positive for Ebola is a serious concern, and the CDC has already taken active steps to minimize the risk to health care workers and the patient," the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said in a statement, as reported by Reuters.
"Health officials have interviewed the latest patient to quickly identify any contacts or potential exposures, and those people will be monitored," the state health department said.
Last week, Nina Pham became the first person to contract the deadly virus in the US after she had attended to Duncan during the 11 days he was treated in the hospital. He died on 8 October.
The news of the second case involving a health care worker comes after huge criticism by nurses at the hospital over not being informed adequately about the proper protocol while treating Ebola patients.
