Sunday, 12 October 2014

Ebola: Hospital mistakes blamed for US transmission

     Police are guarding the home of the infected woman
A top US health official has said a mistake was "clearly" made by staff treating a man who died of Ebola in Texas, resulting in one being infected.
The female health worker infected is in an isolation ward in stable condition, awaiting confirmation of her diagnosis.
Dr Tom Frieden, head of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), said a full inquiry would be made into how the transmission occurred.
He said 48 other people who may also have had contact were being observed.
The health worker at Texas Health Presbyterian Hospital wore full protective gear while treating Ebola victim Thomas Eric Duncan, health officials in Dallas say.
Duncan, who caught the virus in his native Liberia, died on Wednesday.
The current Ebola outbreak, concentrated in Liberia, Guinea and Sierra Leone, has resulted in more than 8,300 confirmed and suspected cases, and at least 4,033 deaths.
'Clearly a breach'
Dr Frieden said a full investigation would be conducted into how the infection had occurred
"Clearly there was a breach in protocol," he told US broadcaster CBS.
The CDC investigation, he told reporters, would focus on possible breaches made during two "high-risk procedures", dialysis and respiratory intubation.
A barrel labelled "biohazard" stands on a lawn outside the apartment complex of the infected health worker in Dallas

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