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CDC's Frieden admits uncertainty over Texas Ebola transmission

"It’s clear there was an exposure somewhere, sometime," Dr. Daniel Varga echoed.

By Brooks Hays
CDC Director Tom Frieden was in Washington this week to answer questions from lawmakers during a congressional hearing on the ongoing Ebola outbreak. (File/UPI/David Tulis)
CDC Director Tom Frieden was in Washington this week to answer questions from lawmakers during a congressional hearing on the ongoing Ebola outbreak. (File/UPI/David Tulis) | License Photo

DALLAS, Oct. 16 (UPI) -- Two nurses caring for the first Ebola patient diagnosed in the United States, Thomas Eric Duncan, have since contracted the deadly disease. And though CDC Director Tom Frieden as insisted a "breach of protocol" was to blame, the agency head admitted to Congress that officials don't know exactly how the two caregivers contracted the virus.

"While we do not yet know exactly how these transmissions occurred, they demonstrate the need to strengthen the procedures for infection-control protocols which allowed for exposure to the virus," Frieden told lawmakers during his testimony at a Wednesday hearing on the U.S. response to Ebola, held by the House Subcommittee on Oversight and Investigations.

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Dr. Daniel Varga -- the chief clinical officer of Texas Health Resources and the person who oversees the hospital where Duncan was treated -- also admitted mistakes, but defended the two nurses, who he said were expertly skilled and followed CDC protocol.

"But it's clear there was an exposure somewhere, sometime," Varga said, joining the congressional hearing via teleconference. "We are poring over records and observations, and doing all we can to find the answers."

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Varga and Friend both said Texas Health Presbyterian Hospital was undergoing policy changes to fill in any loopholes and better prepare is staff and its processes for future situations like the recent Ebola scare. But for now, the hospital won't be caring for any new Ebola patients. Both the newly diagnosed nurses have been transferred to CDC facilities, in Atlanta and Maryland, that are better equipped for dealing with the disease.

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