Another Misstep: CDC Head Admits Second Nurse Infected with Ebola ‘Should Not Have Travelled’ on Airplane

https://youtube.com/watch?v=cW0iS9Dol74

In yet another misstep by the Centers for Disease Control in its fight against Ebola, director Tom Frieden admitted that the most recent Ebola patient should not have been allowed to fly on a commercial aircraft after coming in contact with a known Ebola patient.

On Wednesday it was revealed that a new Dallas health-care worker infected with the virus — the second to contract the disease from the deceased Thomas Duncan — flew on a Frontier Airlines flight from Ohio the day before she was admitted to the hospital.

Dallas health professionals and the CDC knew the worker had been in contact with Duncan, but allowed her to travel to Ohio because it was not yet known that nurse Nina Pham had been infected. But in a conference call on Wednesday, Frieden admitted that was no excuse. 

“Because, at that point, she was in a group of individuals known to have exposure to Ebola, she should not have traveled on a commercial airline,” he said. “The CDC guidance in this setting outlines the need for ‘controlled movement.’ That can include a charter plane, that can include a car. But it does not include public transport.”

Frieden assured reporters that “from this moment forward,” individuals being monitored for Ebola exposure will not be allowed to travel on any kind of public transportation.