The Texas nurse who contracted
Ebola while caring for the first person to die of the virus in the U.S.
has been identified as 26-year-old Nina Pham.
Health officials have not
released the nurse’s name, but Yahoo News identified Pham through public
records and a state nursing database.
Then on Monday, Pham’s family confirmed her identity to Dallas ABC News affiliate WFAA.
Pham, a critical care nurse at Texas Health Presbyterian Hospital, is one of at least 50 to 70 people who cared for Thomas Eric Duncan before he died last Wednesday.
Pham has been in isolation since
late Friday. The CDC confirmed her Ebola diagnosis on Sunday. It is the
first time the deadly virus has been transmitted in the United States.
The Dallas resident graduated
from Texas Christian University's accelerated nursing program in 2010,
the school said in a statement. State records show Pham received her
nursing license in June 2010.
The CDC director, Dr. Thomas Frieden, said Pham is in stable condition at Texas Health Presbyterian.
"Our team lead in Texas has spoken with her on multiple occasions," Frieden said. "She's been extremely helpful."
An unidentified person Pham had
close contact with last week is also being monitored, but Frieden said
that individual has shown no symptoms of Ebola.
Investigators have not
determined how Pham specifically contracted the disease from Duncan, who
died on his 10th day of intensive care at the hospital.
"If this one individual was
infected and we don't know how within the isolation unit, then it is
possible that other individuals could have been infected as well,"
Frieden said during a press conference. "We consider them to be at risk,
and we're doing an in-depth review and investigation."
A day earlier, Frieden
characterized the transmission from Duncan to Pham as a possible breach
in safety protocols. On Monday he apologized for those remarks.
"Some interpreted that as
finding fault with the hospital or the health care worker, and I'm sorry
if that was the impression given. That was certainly not my intention,"
Frieden said. "What we need to do, is all take responsibility for
improving the safety of those on the front lines. I feel awful that a
health care worker became infected in the care of an Ebola patient. She
was there trying to help the first patient survive."
Tom Ha, a longtime friend of Pham's family, told the Dallas Morning News that it is in the nurse's genes to go out of her way to assist others.
"I expect, with the big heart
that she has, she went beyond what she was supposed to do to help anyone
in need," Ha told the newspaper.
Pham, a Fort Worth native,
graduated from Nolan Catholic High School and still attends Our Lady of
Fatima Catholic Church with her family. Parishioners there held a prayer
service for the nurse on Sunday.
In light of what happened to
Pham, Frieden said the CDC will be "doubling down on the amount of
education, training, outreach and support we provide not just to this
hospital but to other hospitals and other health care settings that are
concerned appropriately about the possibility of detecting Ebola and
safely caring for it."
In addition to retraining in infection control, other immediate changes
at Texas Health Presbyterian include a buddy system so Ebola caregivers
spot one another while dressing and undressing in protective gear. The
type and amount of protective gear is being reviewed to see if the
removal might be too cumbersome and prone to mistakes. The number of
health care workers treating an Ebola patient will be reduced as will
the number of repetitive procedures, both of which might help reduce the
risk of worker exposure. Staff will also wear respiratory protection in
an Ebola patient's room when carrying out procedures that increase
exposure to bodily fluids.
"Care for a patient with Ebola
requires meticulous attention to detail, and we're looking at every
aspect to see how we can make it safer and easier," Frieden said.
National Nurses United, the
largest union of registered nurses in the country, plans to host a
national call-in on Wednesday to discuss concerns about hospital
readiness for Ebola. The group said more than 80 percent of its
membership surveyed report they have not been given adequate training on
the deadly virus.
In a statement, the Texas Nurses
Association said it plans to react swiftly if it learns members don't
have the equipment and training needed to protect themselves and others.
"The facts are not known about
how the nurse in Dallas was exposed," wrote the Texas association. "It
is incorrect to assume that the nurse failed to follow protocols. Just
like in the case of Mr. Duncan, it is critical that we approach these
cases objectively and learn from a full account of what happened."
Last month, Dallas officials
were slow to decontaminate the apartment that Duncan had been living in.
But on Monday, a hazardous materials team was already on its second day
at Pham's apartment, located in a popular urban neighborhood close to
restaurants and shopping.
Dallas Animal Services removed
Bentley, Pham's Cavalier King Charles spaniel, to an undisclosed
location where it will be cared for. Dallas County Judge Clay Jenkins
told WFAA that Bentley would not be euthanized like Excalibur, the dog belonging to a Spanish nurse with Ebola.
"When I met with her parents,
they said, 'This dog is important to her, judge. Don't let anything
happen to the dog,'" Jenkins said. "If that dog has to be "The Boy in
the Plastic Bubble," we're going to take good care of that dog."
source:http://news.yahoo.com/nina-pham-identified-as-dallas-nurse-with-ebola-165521689.html
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