Around 70 people cared for Thomas Duncan, the West African Ebola patient who died in a Dallas hospital last week. At first we were told it was around 48 people who had contact with Thomas Duncan and his Ebola. Now, that number is at least 70, and probably will grow again. AP reports among these 70 or so staffers, they drew blood from Duncan, put tubes down his throat, and wiped up his diarrhea. They even analyzed his urine and saliva samples. All now are at higher risk for Ebola. Maybe Obama’s CDC will blame a ‘breach of protocol’ or something.
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| 70 people cared for Thomas Duncan Ebola |
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They drew his blood, put tubes down his throat and wiped up his diarrhea. They analyzed his urine and wiped saliva from his lips, even after he had lost consciousness.
About 70 staff members at Texas Health Presbyterian Hospital were involved in the care of Thomas Eric Duncan after he was hospitalized, including a nurse now being treated for the same Ebola virus that killed the Liberian man who was visiting Dallas, according to medical records his family provided to The Associated Press.
The size of the medical team reflects the hospital’s intense effort to save Duncan’s life, but it also suggests that many other people could have been exposed to the virus during Duncan’s time in an isolation unit.
On Monday, the director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said the infection of the nurse means the agency must broaden the pool of people getting close monitoring. Authorities have said they do not know how the nurse was infected, but they suspect some kind of breach in the hospital’s protocol.