Texas Health Presbyterian and CDC officials announced Sunday morning that a nurse living in an apartment complex at 5740 Marquita near Matilda in East Dallas has reportedly tested positive for Ebola, even though she did not have contact with the late Thomas Eric Duncan until after his quarantine at the hospital.
The nurse’s name is not being released at the request of her family, and she currently (as of Sunday morning) is being evaluated in quarantine at Presbyterian. Hospital and health officials say that had “close contact” with only one other individual since her exposure, so the possibility of others being exposed to Ebola through her are said to be minimal.
She was not one of the 48 people being closely watched due to their close contact with Duncan, officials said. Instead, she is one of an unknown number of health care workers who had significant contact with Duncan after his diagnosis and quarantine. Those people have been “self-monitoring” during the 21-day incubation period for ebola as they went about their daily activities, they said. The nurse apparently developed a fever Friday night, drove herself to Presbyterian for evaluation and was quarantined about 90 minutes after arriving.
The Morning News has a continuously updating string of stories about the latest exposure. The News is reporting that neighbors of the nurse have been notified by telephone and/or note of the incident. The apartment complex has, of course, been swarmed with media and onlookers, and the complex reportedly has been “decontaminated” already.
We’ll update this string as we find more information. At this point, no decision has been announced about the nurse’s treatment protocols, whether they will differ from those given to Duncan and whether she will be transported to a more secure quarantine facility out of state.
