Days after news has spread confirming that 26-year old Nina Pham, the nurse who cared for Thomas Eric Duncan, the first Ebola patient in the U.S., is also positive of the Ebola virus, Director Tom Frieden of the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has released a statement last Monday, saying that they have been rethinking their move in terms of controlling the Ebola infection.
Following the 2 reported Ebola cases at a Dallas hospital, director Frieden admitted that trainings and educating hospitals prepare for the disease needs to be strengthened. " We have to rethink how we address infection control, because even a single infection is unacceptable," he remarked.
CDC has not yet identified the cause of Ms. Pham's infection, who reportedly is in a stable condition, but has been looking into changing practices in the hospitals to ensure safety and security as they care for an Ebola patient. This includes "spraying down health workers after coming out from the patient's room," which is a current practice in Africa. Furthermore, the agency will bring in more personnel and resources to aid Dallas in examining the supposed breach in infection control in the said hospital. He also cited that he did not mean to imply that it was the nurse's or hospitals fault but that "all of us have to work together to do whatever is possible to reduce the risk that any other health-care worker becomes infected."
The said agency is reportedly looking into having hospitals specifically assigned to care for suspected Ebola patients, but no concrete decision has been made yet.
Meanwhile, stricter screenings in the airport have already started in the U.S. last Saturday as implemented by their government following the talk over the phone between U.S. President Barrack Obama, French President Francois Hollande and U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon deliberating on additional measures in order to contain Ebola.
