MOSCOW, October 15 (RIA Novosti) - A second health care worker at Texas Health Presbyterian Hospital who cared for Ebola victim Thomas Eric Duncan has tested positive for the deadly disease, the Texas Department of State Health Services (DSHS) reported Wednesday.
"The health care worker reported a fever Tuesday and was immediately isolated at the hospital," the Texas Department of Health said.
"Health officials have interviewed the latest patient to quickly identify any contacts or potential exposures, and those people will be monitored. The type of monitoring depends on the nature of their interactions and the potential they were exposed to the virus," DSHS added.
DSHS has confirmed the new Ebola case attributing the cause to close contact with the first person to be diagnosed with Ebola, Thomas Eric Duncan, who died on October 8. DSHS states that it continues to monitor those who came into contact with Duncan and the second patient who was diagnosed on October 11. Public health officials are currently checking on 11 contacts and 114 possible contacts for symptoms of the deadly disease.
The health care worker is the second person in the United States to be infected with the Ebola virus.
The Ebola epidemic began in February in southern Guinea and has since spread to Liberia, Sierra Leone, Nigeria and Senegal.
The Ebola virus is transmitted through direct contact with the bodily fluids of the infected. There is no officially approved medication for the disease, but several countries are currently working on developing Ebola vaccine. The death toll is estimated to be over 4,400 according to the latest World Health Organization (WHO) reports.
