Healthcare providers must re-examine how they approach treatment for patients with potentially infectious diseases, in light of the nurse who contracted Ebola while providing care for Dallas Ebola patient Thomas Eric Duncan, said Centers for Disease Control and Prevention Director Dr. Thomas Frieden Monday.
“We have to rethink the way we address Ebola infection control because even a single infection is unacceptable,” Frieden said.
Reports Monday identified the nurse as 26-year-old Nina Pham, whose condition Frieden described as “clinically stable.” She is the first person to contract Ebola while in the Untied States.
“The existence of the first case of Ebola spread within the U.S. changes some things and doesn't change other things,” Frieden said. “It doesn't change the fact that we know Ebola spreads. It doesn't change the fact that it's possible to take care of Ebola safely, but it does change substantially how we approach it.”