A healthcare worker at Texas Health Presbyterian Hospital in Dallas has tested positive for the Ebola virus.
The hospital released a statement indicating the healthcare worker was part of the team caring for Thomas Eric Duncan, the Ebola patient who died last week.
The statement reports the healthcare worker was adhering to a self-monitoring regimen prescribed by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention for clinicians, which included taking their temperatures twice daily.
"As a result of that procedure, the caregiver notified the hospital of imminent arrival and was immediately admitted to the hospital in isolation. The entire process, from the patient's self-monitoring to the admission into isolation, took less than 90 minutes," according to the statement.
The healthcare worker reported symptoms and was admitted and isolated Friday, Oct. 10, according to a CDC statement. Blood test results submitted to the CDC came back positive for the virus on Sunday, Oct. 12, making this the first incidence of Ebola transmission in the United States.
A "close contact" of the patient has also been put in isolation as a precaution, according to Texas Health Resources' statement.
A CNN report identifies the patient as a female nurse.
An NPR report indicates Tom Frieden, MD, director of the CDC, said the infection is the result of a "breach in protocol" at the hospital, though the exact moment of the breach has not yet been identified.
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