U.S. Ebola Outbreak Containment in Question as 2nd Nurse Contracts Disease, Travels to Cleveland

Questions are being raised about the U.S.'s ability to contain an Ebola outbreak after the Texas Department of State Health Services announced that a second healthcare worker has tested positive for the virus in Texas after recently treating Thomas Duncan, who died last week from the disease. Making matters worse the nurse in question was on a flight on Monday from Cleveland to Dallas/Fort Worth, one day before being diagnosed. Also, a statement from National Nurses United raised serious allegations on how the Ebola patient was handled in Texas and about the lack of preparedness around the country.

Today, the CDC is reaching out to all 132 passengers who flew on Frontier Airlines flight 1143 Cleveland to Dallas/Fort Worth Oct. 13. The second healthcare worker who tested positive for Ebola was confirmed on the flight the day before she reported symptoms. Previously the patient in question traveled from Dallas Fort Worth to Cleveland on Frontier flight 1142 on October 10.

In a CDC press conference this afternoon, administrators said the second patient in question traveled before the first patient was diagnosed and she didn't have any symptoms. The patient was being 'self monitored' for fever. The CDC said they will now mandate that anyone exposed to Ebola should not take public transportation.

According to a statement from National Nurses United, after the ambulance brought Duncan to Texas Health Presbyterian with Ebola-like symptoms, he was “left for several hours, not in isolation, in an area with other patients. Subsequently, a nurse supervisor arrived and demanded that he be moved to an isolation unit, yet faced stiff resistance from other hospital authorities." Further the statement said, "Lab specimens from Mr. Duncan were sent through the hospital tube system with-out being specifically sealed and hand-delivered. The result is that the entire tube system, which all lab specimens are sent, was potentially contaminated."

"The was not advanced preparedness on what to do with the patient. There was no protocol, there was no system. The nurses were asked to call the Infection Disease Department. The Infection Disease Department did not have clear policies to provide either."

"Initial nurses who interacted with Mr. Duncan wore generic gowns used in contact-droplet isolation, front and back, three pairs of gloves with no taping around the writs, surgical masks with the option of an N-95 and face shield. Some supervisors said that even the the N-95 masks were not necessary. The gowns they were given still exposed their necks, the parts closest to their face and mouth, they also left exposed the majority of their head and their scrubs from the knees down. Initially they were not even given surgical booties nor were they advised the number of pairs of gloves to wear."

"Nurses had to interact with Mr. Duncan with whatever protective equipment was available at the time when he had copious amounts of diarrhea and vomiting which produces a lot of contagious fluids. Hospital officials allowed nurses, who interacted with Mr. Duncan, to then continue normal patient care duties taking care of other patients, even though they had not had the proper personal protected equipment while providing care for Mr. Duncan, that was later recommended by the CDC."

"Patients who may have been exposed were one day kept in strict isolation units, the next day they were ordered to be transferred out of strict isolation, and into areas where other patients, even those with low-grade fevers who could potentially be contagious."

The Nurses' say advanced perpetration that had been done by the hospital primarily consisted of e-mailing them about one optional lecture or seminar on Ebola.

Illustrating the increasing seriousness of the mater, today President Obama cancelled a trip and will instead hold a Cabinet-level meeting on Ebola response.

The WHO announced that there have been 4,493 Ebola deaths as of the end of Oct. 12 in 7 countries.

Many Ebola-related stocks are higher today following the news: Lakeland Industries (Nasdaq: LAKE), Alpha Pro Tech Ltd. (NYSE: APT), Versar (NYSE: VSR), Tekmira Pharmaceuticals (Nasdaq: TKMR), NewLink Genetics (Nasdaq: NLNK), BioCryst Pharmaceuticals (Nasdaq: BCRX), NanoViricides, Inc. (AMEX: NNVC), Chimerix (Nasdaq: CMRX), Sarepta Therapeutics (NASDAQ: SRPT), Hemispherx Biopharma (NYSE: HEB), iBio, Inc. (NYSE: IBIO), Cerus Corp (NASDAQ: CERS).

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