The authorities in Texas reported on Wednesday that a second health care worker involved in the treatment of a patient who died of the Ebola virus had tested positive for the disease after developing a fever.
The worker, who was not identified by name, had been “among those who took care of Thomas Eric Duncan after he was diagnosed with Ebola,” a statement from the Texas Department of State Health Services said.
Mr. Duncan, a citizen of Liberia, one of the three West African nations most stricken with the disease, died a week ago.
“Health officials have interviewed the latest patient to quickly identify any contacts or potential exposures, and those people will be monitored,” the statement said.
The patient had also been isolated, the statement said. It said initial tests were carried out late Tuesday at the state public health laboratory in Austin, Tex., and added that “confirmatory testing on a separate specimen will be conducted by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in Atlanta.”
The statement came a day after officials in Dallas said they were now monitoring 76 health care workers at Presbyterian Hospital who treated or cared for Mr. Duncan or who might have handled blood specimens from the time he was admitted to the hospital on Sept. 28 to his death last Wednesday.
One nurse at the hospital, Nina Pham, 26, who helped look after Mr. Duncan is already being treated for Ebola.
NYT
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