WASHINGTON, October 15 (RIA Novosti) - The Centers for Disease Control (CDC) asked 132 passengers of October 13 Frontier Airlines flight between Dallas and Cleveland, Ohio, to contact CDC immediately over the risk of their potential Ebola exposure.
"On the morning of October 14, the second healthcare worker reported to the hospital with a low-grade fever and was isolated. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention confirms that the second healthcare worker, who was tested positive last night for Ebola, traveled by air October 13, the day before she reported symptoms," the Wednesday statement, released by the CDC, said.
CDC officials said that the healthcare worker, who was tested positive for Ebola late Tuesday, had no symptoms of the disease during the Frontier flight 1143 on Monday, but also said that the nurse had additionally traveled from Dallas Fort Worth Airport to Cleveland on another Frontier flight on October 10.
"The safety and security of our customers and employees is our primary concern. Frontier will continue to work closely with CDC and other governmental agencies to ensure proper protocols and procedures are being followed," the statement read.
So far, two healthcare workers from the Texas Health Presbyterian Hospital have tested positive for Ebola after caring for the virus' victim, Liberian national Thomas Eric Duncan, who died on October 8. The local Dallas Morning News is identifying the second worker as 29-year-old Amber Joy Vinson, who is a registered nurse in Texas.
The Texas Department of State Health Services (DSHS) said they are monitoring 11 confirmed and 114 possible contacts for symptoms of the disease.
The Ebola epidemic began in February in southern Guinea and has since spread to Liberia, Sierra Leone, Nigeria and Senegal. Three people have been diagnosed with the deadly virus on US soil.
An official medication for Ebola has yet to be approved, but several countries are trying to develop vaccine. The World Health Organization estimates that the Ebola death toll exceeds 4,400.
