A senior hospital official, the director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention as well as other federal officials have reportedly prepared to testify before a House Oversight Committee hearing today in Washington regarding the treatment of the Ebola Virus, according to NBC News.
Amidst the criticism surrounding health officials, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention Director Tom Frieden reportedly confessed today that officials are still unaware of exactly how the two nurses, Nina Pham and Amber Vinson, contracted Ebola their patient,Thomas Eric Duncan, the first man to be diagnosed with the virus in the U.S.
"While we do not yet know exactly how these transmissions occurred, they demonstrate the need to strengthen the procedures for infection-control protocols which allowed for exposure to the virus," Frieden said while testifying at a hearing of the House Subcommittee on Oversight and Investigations, according to The Huffington Post.
He continued, "We are working very hard to investigate the situation, but are not waiting for the completion of this investigation and have already helped the hospital implement new measures for safety."
Dr. Daniel Varga of Texas Health Resources reportedly stated in a written testimony that was submitted ahead of the hearing that there were mistakes in the initial diagnosis of Duncan, who died earlier this month.
"It's hard for me to put into words how we felt when our patient Thomas Eric Duncan lost his struggle with Ebola on October 8. Unfortunately, in our initial treatment of Mr. Duncan, despite our best intentions and a highly skilled medical team, we made mistakes. We did not correctly diagnose his symptoms as those of Ebola. We are deeply sorry," stated Varga.
Although the number of patients contracting the Ebola virus is on the rise, Frieden stated today that he is ready to keep fighting the deadly disease.
"Despite these latest incidents, we remain confident that our public health and health care systems can prevent an Ebola outbreak here, and that the authorities and investments provided by the Congress have put us in a strong position to protect Americans," Frieden stated in prepared testimony.
