First Dallas Nurse Said To Be In 'Good Spirits,' 'Fair Condition' During Ebola Treatment
Nina Pham, the first Dallas nurse to be diagnosed with Ebola, is reportedly in "fair condition" after contracting the virus last week.
Pham was moved from Texas Health Presbyterian Hospital in Dallas, Texas to National Institutes of Health Clinical Center outside of Washington this week. She was infected with Ebola after treating patient Thomas Eric Duncan, a Liberian national who died from the disease in Dallas last week.
The nurse is reportedly sitting up, eating and reading her iPad at the hospital in Washington, and the hospital reports that she is in "good spirits."
The 29-year-old is reportedly joined by her mother and sister in the D.C. area, who have been able to communicate with the health worker via Skype.
Dr. Anthony Fauci, director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, said at a press conference Friday that Pham is "not deteriorating." He was careful not to expound on her condition to respect doctor patient confidentiality, but added that her condition "implies that she does still have some symptoms."
Another Dallas health care worker, Amber Vinson, was also infected with the virus and is receiving treatment at Emory University Hospital in Atlanta, Georgia. New information on her status has yet to be released.
The United States has stepped up its monitoring of the disease after it was revealed that Vinson took a commercial airline flight one day before showing symptoms of Ebola, which is when the virus is contagious. Schools have been shut down temporarily in response to the virus, and a cruise ship in Belize has been put under quarantine after it was revealed that one passenger tested Duncan's bodily fluids 19 days ago.