By Caitlin McCabe
A Dallas health-care worker who was monitored for Ebola aboard a
Carnival cruise ship has tested negative for the virus and is
headed home, according to a Carnival Cruise Lines spokeswoman.
The results came early Sunday as the ship was docking in
Galveston, Texas, after being denied entry at a port of call in
Mexico. The U.S. Coast Guard flew to the ship on Saturday to
collect blood samples from the woman who is a lab supervisor at
Texas Health Presbyterian Hospital Dallas where Liberian national
Thomas Eric Duncan died of the virus on Oct. 8.
The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention discovered
earlier this week that the unidentified lab worker may have handled
specimens from Mr. Duncan, the first diagnosed case of Ebola in the
U.S. The discovery added to swelling fears across the U.S. about
the threat of the disease, which officials say is only transmitted
by close, direct physical contact with the bodily fluids of someone
infected.
As a precaution, the woman voluntarily quarantined herself for
the remainder of the trip. The Caribbean cruise had to forego part
of its itinerary and was denied access to Cozumel, Mexico, upon
hearing about the woman's possible exposure.
Passengers aboard the ship, including the lab worker,
disembarked as planned on Sunday morning in Galveston after results
were released, the Carnival spokeswoman said.
Despite running the blood test, a spokesman for the Galveston
County Health District said Sunday that the local health authority
had been confident throughout the process that the woman posed
little risk. The woman is nearing the final days of the 21-day
incubation period for Ebola.
The ship is scheduled to sail this afternoon as normal, the
Carnival spokeswoman said.
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