New Ebola Case Raises Questions about 'Protocols'

All eyes are on Dallas Monday as health officials try to figure out how to prevent the deadly Ebola virus from spreading any further.
    
Fears are rising after the weekend brought news of a second case of Ebola within the U.S. 
    
Investigators are trying to figure out how a nurse who treated Ebola patient Thomas Eric Duncan, the first person to be diagnosed in the U.S., contracted the deadly disease. 

The Texas Health Presbyterian Hospital in Dallas says the nurse, identified as Nina Pham, followed protocols laid out by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention -- wearing a facemask, gloves, shoe and leg covers.

But the CDC says a breach of protocol may have taken place when her protective gear was removed.

"When you have potentially soiled or contaminated gloves or masks or other things, to remove those without any risk of any contaminated material ... touching you and being then on your clothes or face or skin ... is not easy to do right," CNN quoted the CDC.

But Katy Roemer of National Nurses United suggests more needs to be done than just pointing fingers at nurses.

"When the nurses become infected, they are blamed for not following the protocols. This is not going to work," she said.

The infected nurse, who is apparently in her twenties, started feeling symptoms Friday and drove herself to the hospital.

Hazmat crews decontaminated her apartment, making at least one neighbor uneasy.

"Definitely it's scary being in Dallas ... when it's right here," neighbor Bonnie Yates said.

A recorded telephone message was sent out to Dallas residents, saying "a health care worker who lives in your area has tested positive for the Ebola virus."
 
CDC Director Thomas Frieden says it's possible other healthcare workers who came in contact with Duncan may also be infected.

"Unfortunately, it is possible in the coming days that we will see additional cases of Ebola," he warned.

No other healthcare workers have shown Ebola symptoms so far. But as a precaution, at least one other worker was placed in isolation.

Meanwhile, many wonder what should be done to stop the deadly disease from spreading.

A former director of the CDC says only four U.S. hospitals -- located in Montana, Nebraska, Georgia and Maryland -- are prepared to handle Ebola patients.

So far in the U.S., Ebola has been contained to Dallas. Two other suspected cases -- one in Los Angeles and another in Boston -- were false alarms.