http://thehill.com/policy/healthcare/220849-ebola-nurses-wore-no-protective-gear-for-two-daysBy Elise Viebeck - 10/15/14 02:52 PM EDT
Medical workers in Dallas wore no special protective gear for two days while caring for the U.S.’s first Ebola patient, Thomas Eric Duncan, according to a report.
Healthcare personnel at Texas Health Presbyterian Hospital started treating Duncan on Sept. 28 but did not start wearing hazmat suits until Sept. 30, when he was officially diagnosed with Ebola.
Federal health officials believe that three-day window could be the key to understanding how two healthcare workers contracted Ebola, the Dallas Morning News reported. At least 50 hospital personnel are undergoing "intensive follow-up" for signs they might have the deadly virus.
Prior to Duncan's diagnosis, healthcare workers wore basic gowns and gloves, which are considered insufficient to protect someone treating Ebola.
Texas Health Presbyterian Hospital has received criticism for a long series of missteps in caring for Duncan, who died Oct. 8.
A national nursing union said late Tuesday that the hospital initially resisted isolating Duncan when he returned for care for the second time.
Nurses were also insufficiently trained and given incomplete protective gear, the union claimed.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has also come under fire for its oversight of the hospital's response.
CDC officials said Wednesday that the second infected healthcare worker will be transferred to Emory University Hospital in Atlanta. The first worker will remain in Dallas for now.
