Dallas hospital learned its Ebola protocols while struggling to save mortally ill patient

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Wed, 2014-10-15 10:38 — mike kraft

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF DALLAS HOPSITAL'S LEARNING ON THE FLY TO COPE WITH ITS FIRST EBOLA PATIENT.

THE WASHINGTON POST Oct. 15, 2014
By Amy Ellis Nutt, Abby Phillip and Joel Achenbach

DALLAS — The hospital that treated Ebola victim Thomas Eric Duncan had to learn on the fly how to control the deadly virus, adding new layers of protective gearfor workers in what became a losing battle to keep the contagion from spreading, a top official with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said Tuesday.

“They kept adding more protective equipment as the patient [Duncan] deteriorated. They had masks first, then face shields, then the positive-pressure respirator. They added a second pair of gloves,” said Pierre Rollin, a CDC epidemiologist.

Despite the infection-control efforts, a nurse, Nina Pham, 26, somehow contracted Ebola at Texas Health Presbyterian Hospital Dallas while caring for Duncan, a Liberian man who flew to the United States last month. Pham is being treated at the same hospital, and Tuesday she was reported to be in good condition. (On Wednesday, state officials announced that a second worker who cared for Duncan had also tested positive for the virus.)