MOSCOW, October 15 (RIA Novosti) - Nurses from Texas Health Presbyterian Hospital blame the medical facility's inadequate protocols and procedures for another Ebola case registered in the United States, ABC News reported Wednesday citing the National Nurses United.
"No one knew what the protocols were or were able to verify what kind of personal protective equipment should be worn and there was no training," the National Nurses United, the largest US nurses' union was quoted as saying.
Nina Pham, the first person to contract Ebola within the United States, is a nurse who caught the illness while treating Thomas Eric Duncan, a Liberian national admitted into Texas Health Presbyterian Hospital. Duncan who became the first person diagnosed with the disease on US soil received treatment for 11 days before dying on October 12.
Some 70 nurses assigned to care for Duncan at the Dallas hospital claim they were given the option of wearing special N95 masks, but some supervisors told them the masks were unnecessary. The nurses also stated that Duncan was left for several hours in a non-isolated area upon his arrival and revealed that his lab work was sent through the hospital's tube system, possibly contaminating the entire system.
"Nurses had to interact with Mr. Duncan with whatever protective equipment was available, at a time when he had copious amounts of diarrhea and vomiting which produces a lot of contagious fluids," the National Nurses United was quoted as saying by ABC News.
A hospital spokesman did not respond to the nurse's claims but stated the hospital had not received any similar complaints.
Deborah Burger, co-president of National Nurses United, believes the Dallas hospital's failure to handle the situation properly could reflect the country's lack of training and equipment necessary to safely treat the Ebola virus.
The Ebola virus is transmitted through direct contact with the bodily fluids of the infected. There is no officially approved medication for the disease, but several countries are currently working on developing Ebola vaccine. The death toll is estimated to be over 4,400 according to the latest World Health Organization (WHO) reports.
