October 12, 2014

Our morning starts with some breaking news out of Texas:

A Texas health care worker who provided hospital care for an Ebola patient who later died has tested positive for the virus, health officials said Sunday in a statement. If the preliminary diagnosis is confirmed, it would be the first known case of the disease being contracted or transmitted in the U.S.

A statement posted on the Texas Department of State Health Service’s website said “confirmatory testing will be conducted by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in Atlanta.”

Officials said the health care worker reported a low grade fever Friday night and was isolated and referred for testing. Preliminary test results were received late Saturday.

Hospital and state health officials did not identify the health care worker or provide their job description.

Not much information yet on this. I'm personally waiting to hear if this worker had contact with Duncan before or after Duncan's diagnosis. That's the key question in this.

(UPDATED: Mixed reports out. Some say they have been diagnosed, while others are saying it's just that they have tested positive. I am going to be optimistic and go with them testing positive.)

UPDATE 2:

In a press conference just now, Texas officials said that the person was in contact with Duncan after his diagnosis, which raises serious questions about how this person contracted the disease.Also the emergency room at the hospital has been closed to new patients, most likely as a precaution.

UPDATE 3:

The following is from CNN:

A female nurse at Texas Health Presbyterian Hospital in Dallas has tested positive for Ebola after a preliminary test, the state's health agency said.

Confirmatory testing will be conducted Sunday by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in Atlanta. Test results are expected to be announced later in the day.
The nurse helped care for Thomas Eric Duncan, the first person ever diagnosed with Ebola in the United States. Duncan died Wednesday.

The nurse is in stable condition, Texas Health Resources chief clinical officer Dan Varga said.

The nurse was involved in Duncan's second visit to the hospital, when he was admitted for treatment, and was wearing protective gear as prescribed by the CDC: gown, gloves, mask and shield, Varga said.

Can you help us out?

For nearly 20 years we have been exposing Washington lies and untangling media deceit, but now Facebook is drowning us in an ocean of right wing lies. Please give a one-time or recurring donation, or buy a year's subscription for an ad-free experience. Thank you.

Discussion

We welcome relevant, respectful comments. Any comments that are sexist or in any other way deemed hateful by our staff will be deleted and constitute grounds for a ban from posting on the site. Please refer to our Terms of Service for information on our posting policy.
Mastodon