US identifies 76 health care workers at risk for Ebola

WASHINGTON: A total of 76 health care workers may have been exposed to the deadly Ebola virus while caring for a Liberian patient in a Dallas hospital, US health authorities said Tuesday.

The new pool of at-risk people includes anyone who went into the room of the patient or handled his blood specimens, said Thomas Frieden, director of the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

"There were 76 people who had some level of contact and therefore are being actively monitored," Frieden told reporters. They will be checked daily for fever, he said.

Nina Pham, a nurse, was infected with Ebola while caring for Duncan, who died last week after a 10-day hospital stay.

Pham has had contact with just one person since she developed symptoms, and that person has been isolated and is being monitored.

Initially, officials identified 48 people who may have had contact with Duncan before he was hospitalized on September 28.

They have now passed the two-week mark, indicating that their risk of developing Ebola has decreased.

"They have now passed through the highest risk period," said Frieden. Most people get sick within eight to 10 days of exposure to Ebola, which is spread through close contact with bodily fluids.

However, the virus has a 21-day incubation period and they will continue to be monitored until then.

The current outbreak of Ebola has killed more than 4,000 people in West Africa since the start of the year. (AFP)