A second Texas healthcare worker who cared for Ebola patient Thomas Eric Duncan at Texas Health Presbyterian Hospital in Dallas has tested positive for the disease and was immediately isolated after reporting a fever. A nurse there also caught the deadly virus.
"Health officials have interviewed the latest patient to quickly identify any contacts or potential exposures, and those people will be monitored," Reuters reported the
Texas Department of State Health Services as saying in a statement.
The news comes just days after 26-year-old Nina Pham became the first person infected by Ebola in the United States while caring for Duncan during much of his 11 days in the hospital. He died on Oct. 8.
The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said in a statement that it was performing confirmation testing of Texas' preliminary tests on the new patient.
"An additional health care worker testing positive for Ebola is a serious concern, and the CDC has already taken active steps to minimize the risk to health care workers and the patient," the CDC said.