Early Sunday morning, ABC News reported that a healthcare worker from Texas Health Presbyterian Hospital in Dallas tested positive for Ebola.

The person who tested positive for Ebola had worked on the team that had treated Thomas Eric Duncan over the past two weeks. Duncan, who died last week, was the first person in the United States who tested positive for Ebola.

The Texas Department of State Health Services issued a statement concerning the positive Ebola test:

A health care worker at Texas Health Presbyterian Hospital who provided care for the Ebola patient hospitalized there has tested positive for Ebola in a preliminary test at the state public health laboratory in Austin. Confirmatory testing will be conducted by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in Atlanta.

 

The health care worker reported a low grade fever Friday night and was isolated and referred for testing. The preliminary test result was received late Saturday.

 

"We knew a second case could be a reality, and we've been preparing for this possibility," said Dr. David Lakey, commissioner of the Texas Department of State Health Services. "We are broadening our team in Dallas and working with extreme diligence to prevent further spread."

 

Health officials have interviewed the patient and are identifying any contacts or potential exposures. People who had contact with the health care worker after symptoms emerged will be monitored based on the nature of their interactions and the potential they were exposed to the virus.

 

Ebola is spread through direct contact with bodily fluids of a sick person or exposure to contaminated objects such as needles. People are not contagious before symptoms such as fever develop.

As of 6:10 a.m. Sunday morning, the identity of the second person who has tested positive for Ebola has not been released. Texas Health Presbyterian Hospital officials have not issued a statement concerning the positive Ebola test.

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