Healthcare worker who cared for Ebola patient tests positive

• Posted on October 13, 2014October 13, 2014
• by Nana Kwesi Coomson
• Comment

A health care worker here who helped treat the Liberian man who died last week of the Ebola virus has tested positive for the disease in a preliminary test, state health officials said Sunday.

“We knew a second case could be a reality, and we’ve been preparing for this possibility,” said Dr. David Lakey, the Texas health commissioner. “We are broadening our team in Dallas and working with extreme diligence to prevent further spread.”

The worker, who was not identified, was an employee of Texas Health Presbyterian Hospital in Dallas, where the first person diagnosed with Ebola in the United States, Thomas E. Duncan, died last week.

The health care worker reported a low grade fever Friday night and was isolated and referred for testing. Officials interviewed the worker and were identifying “any contacts or potential exposures,” the statement read.

The preliminary test was done at the state public-health lab in Austin and the positive result was received late Saturday, officials said.

Other tests will be done by the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in Atlanta.

-bossip