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US nurse with Ebola 'doing well' in isolation as hospital monitors others US nurse with Ebola 'doing well' in isolation as hospital monitors others
(about 5 hours later)
Nina Pham, the nurse who contracted Ebola after treating America’s patient zero, said she is “doing well” in a statement released by the Dallas hospital where she works and is now a patient on Tuesday. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) is establishing an Ebola response team that will be immediately dispatched to any hospital with a confirmed case of the disease.
“I’m doing well and want to thank everyone for their kind wishes and prayers,” Pham said. At a press briefing on Tuesday, CDC director Tom Frieden conceded that the agency should have sent a larger team to Dallas when Thomas Eric Duncan, a Liberian man who contracted the disease before arriving in the US, tested positive for Ebola two weeks ago. Duncan died in hospital last Wednesday.
“I am blessed by the support of family and friends and am blessed to be cared for by the best team of doctors and nurses in the world here at Texas Health Presbyterian Hospital Dallas.” “That might have prevented this infection,” Frieden said. “Ebola is unfamiliar. It’s scary and getting it right is really important because the stakes are so high,” he added.
Pham was one of about 70 people at Texas Health Presbyterian Hospital who cared for Thomas Eric Duncan, a Liberian man who contracted the disease before arriving in the US. Members of the medical team that treated Duncan were instructed to self-monitor for 21 days, the disease’s incubation period. Pham was admitted to hospital and placed in isolation late Saturday evening after reporting a slight fever, the hospital said. Pham also received blood plasma from an American survivor, Dr Kent Brantley, who recovered from Ebola earlier this year after intensive care. Frieden said investigators have still not identified the apparent breach in protocol that led to Nina Pham, a nurse who cared for Duncan, contracting the virus. Healthcare workers wore gowns, gloves, masks and face shields when treating Duncan.
The following day, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) confirmed that she had tested positive for Ebola even though she had worn protective gear while treating Duncan, in the first case of transmission of the virus in the US and the second outside Africa. Regardless, Frieden said enhanced safety measures are already being implemented in Dallas, including the addition of a round-the-clock site manager to help enforce infection control procedures. Two nurses from Emory University hospital in Atlanta, home to one of the nation’s four bio-containment units, were sent to Dallas where they will train hospital staff.
Texas Health Resources CEO Barclay Berdan said in the statement released by the hospital: “The hearts and prayers of everyone at Texas Health Presbyterian Hospital Dallas are with Nina Pham, and we are working tirelessly to help her in this courageous fight. The doctors and nurses involved with her treatment remain hopeful, and we ask for the prayers of the entire country.” The CDC is also recommending that hospitals limit the number of staff involved in an Ebola’s patients care. Pham, 26, was one of 76 healthcare workers at Texas Health Presbyterian Hospital who may have come into contact with Duncan or his blood while he was being treated. Pham entered Duncan’s intensive care unit often, and cared for Duncan a day before he died last week, according to medical records.
Members of the medical team that treated Duncan were instructed to self-monitor for 21 days, the disease’s incubation period. Pham was admitted to hospital and placed in isolation late on Saturday after reporting a slight fever, the hospital said. The following day, the CDC confirmed that she had tested positive for Ebola.
Pham, who has received blood plasma from an American, Dr Kent Brantley, who recovered from Ebola earlier this year, said she is “doing well” in a statement released by the hospital on Tuesday.
“I’m doing well and want to thank everyone for their kind wishes and prayers,” Pham said. “I am blessed by the support of family and friends and am blessed to be cared for by the best team of doctors and nurses in the world here at Texas Health Presbyterian Hospital Dallas.”
A man who had contact with Pham before she became symptomatic is being “actively monitored” by health officials, as is her dog, Texas health commissioner David Lakey said on Tuesday.
The 48 people who are believed to have had varying degrees of contact with Duncan are all still being monitored for symptoms. Frieden said they’ve passed the riskiest period of their 21-day incubation, and an infection at this point would be “unusual”.
The deepening Ebola crisis in west Africa has claimed the lives of more than 4,000 people.The deepening Ebola crisis in west Africa has claimed the lives of more than 4,000 people.