The federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) is pulling all stops to prevent contamination of the dreaded Ebola virus in the U.S.
The CDC has been up on its toes with the confirmation on Sunday that a Texas health care worker has been tested positive for the virus, reports NBC News.
The Texas Department of State Health Services confirmed that a health care worker at Texas Presbyterian Hospital is positive for Ebola, cites NBC News from an official CDC report.
"The health care worker, who provided care for the Dallas index patient, was isolated soon after symptoms started and remains so now," the CDC statement said.
The nurse, who has yet to be named, cared for Thomas Eric Duncan, the 42-year-old Liberian national who was the first Ebola patient diagnosed in the U.S.
The hospital worker became the first person to contract Ebola within the U.S., and the second Ebola case in the country. The test confirmation of the Ebola contraction came four days after the death of Duncan from the disease.
Duncan was admitted to the Texas Presbyterian Hospital on September 28 when all workers were taking full precautions against Ebola transmissions.
The event stirred local state and federal officials to scamper and search for answers as to how the nurse got infected despite her wearing protective gear, reports The New York Times.
"The care of Ebola patients can be done safely. But it's hard to do it safely. Even a single, inadvertent innocent slip can result in contamination," Dr. Thomas R. Frieden, Director of CDC, told reporters on Sunday.
The New York Times reported that the CDC would hold a nationwide conference call on Tuesday for the country's health workers to guarantee that they would all be fully prepared and equipped to treat a patient or patients with Ebola.
The CDC believes that they might be a "breach of protocol' as to why the Dallas nurse contracted the Ebola virus while treating Duncan, hints NBC News.
Dr. Frieden also disclosed that the female care giver had already been interviewed but still could not identify the specific breach that allowed the infection to spread.
NBC News also pointed out that the stricken nurse detailed of a low-grade fever on Friday after driving herself to the emergency room of the Texas Presbyterian Hospital. She was admitted and subsequently put in isolation 90 minutes later.
The female nurse was among the original 48 people whom CDC identified as having had contact with Duncan since he arrived in the U.S.
The agency is now monitoring these people for their 21-day period before they can be officially considered clear from the disease, The New York Times report said.
