Second US Ebola case deals blow to global battle

WASHINGTON DC, USA (3rd UPDATE) – A Texas health care worker who treated an Ebola victim has tested positive for the deadly tropical fever, dealing a blow to the worldwide battle to stem the outbreak.

Top US health officials have said the case – which if confirmed would be the second diagnosed outside Africa and the first contracted on US soil  – indicated a breach in safety protocol.

That suggestion – along with statements from an infected Spanish nurse who said she thought she might have developed Ebola after brushing her face with a glove – raised questions about the effectiveness of the measures in place to halt the disease’s spread.

New York’s JFK airport on Saturday became the first in the United States to launch health screenings for travelers from epidemic-hit west Africa. Other nations have instituted similar checks.

More than 4,000 people have died of Ebola in seven countries since the start of the year, according to the World Health Organization, and the epidemic appears to be outpacing efforts to fight it.

If preliminary test results are confirmed, the Texas patient would be the second person diagnosed with the illness and apparently the first to contract it on US soil, a day after US airports began screening travelers from epidemic-hit west Africa.

“We knew a second case could be a reality, and we’ve been preparing for this possibility,” said Dr David Lakey, commissioner of the Texas Department of State Health Services.

“We are broadening our team in Dallas and working with extreme diligence to prevent further spread.”

Breach in protocol

The caregiver at Texas Health Presbyterian Hospital Dallas tested positive for Ebola on Saturday in a preliminary test and is currently in the hospital, in isolation and in stable condition.

“This is not news that should bring about panic,” said Dallas county judge Clay Jenkins.

But Dan Varga, the chief clinical officer for Texas Health Resources, said officials were “very concerned” that the worker had apparently contracted the virus despite following safety protocol.

“This individual was following full CDC precautions,” he said, noting that the gear would have included a mask, gown, and gloves.

The head of the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), Thomas Frieden, admitted the safety protocols had somehow been breached.

Frieden told CBS’s “Face the Nation” “clearly there was a breach in protocol” and expressed concern officials didn’t know it.

The Texas hospital had treated Thomas Eric Duncan, the Liberian man who died on Wednesday.

Duncan was believed to have been infected with Ebola before he left Liberia and boarded a plane to visit family in Texas.

Far ahead of us

The latest Texas case underlines United Nations fears and growing concerns in the United States about Ebola, for which there is no vaccine or widely available treatment.

“The virus is far ahead of us and every day the situation gets worse,” the head of the United Nations’ emergency Ebola mission, Anthony Banbury, told UN leaders after a tour of Liberia, Guinea and Sierra Leone, the nations worst affected by the worst-ever outbreak of the disease.

Passengers from the three countries arriving at John F Kennedy International Airport in New York will have their temperatures taken and be screened for signs of illness and answer questions about possible exposure, the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) said.

“Exit screening might not find every person with Ebola, however, it does not have to be perfect to help reduce the spread of Ebola,” the CDC said in a statement. Four other major US airports are to start similar checks next week.

The CDC has predicted the number of cases globally could mount in a worst-case scenario to 1.4 million by January, unless strong measures are taken to contain the disease.

Nurse’s condition improves

In Spain, attention remained focused on 44-year-old Teresa Romero, the Madrid nurse who became the first person to get infected with the hemorrhagic fever outside of Africa.

Her condition had “improved in the night. She is conscious and talks from time to time when she is in a good mood,” a hospital source told Agence France-Presse.

Romero’s brother confirmed that his sister was improving.

“She no longer has a fever, it appears that while remaining seriously ill she’s getting better and moving forward, She’s still in a serious but stable condition and this gives us hope,” Jose-Ramon Romero told private television channel La Sexta.

Teresa Romero is thought to have contracted the disease in late September in a Madrid hospital while caring for a Spanish missionary infected with Ebola in Africa who later died.

Fifteen other people, mostly hospital staff as well as Romero’s husband, are under observation at the Carlos III hospital where Romero is being treated. The hospital said none of them were showing any symptoms.

‘Not all Africa’

The WHO reported 4,033 people have died from Ebola as of October 8 out of a total of 8,399 registered cases in seven countries.

Ebola causes fever, diarrhea, vomiting and in some cases internal and external bleeding. It is spread by contact and the exchange of bodily fluids.

The sharp rise in deaths came as the UN said aid pledges to fight the epidemic have fallen well short of the $1 billion (800 million euros) needed.

IMF chief Christine Lagarde pleaded on Saturday, October 11, for the world to remember that not all of Africa had been hit with Ebola.

With Sierra Leone, Guinea and Liberia already seeing their economies crumble because of the disease, Lagarde emphasized: “We should be very careful not to terrify the planet in respect of the whole of Africa.” – Rappler.com