CDC investigating source of infection
CDC director Frieden says the centre is considering several possibilities as to how the Dallas nurse became infected with the virus. One possibility is that the infection spread when protective equipment was removed or when Duncan received kidney dialysis or respiratory intubatution in last-ditch efforts to save his life:
Both of those procedures may spread contaminated materials and are considered high-risk procedures… When you have potentially soiled or contaminated gloves or masks or other things, to remove those without any risk of any contaminated material … touching you and being then on your clothes or face or skin … is not easy to do right.
Another possibility is out-of-protocol precautions taken by healthcare workers worried about safety, but which can actually increase risks, such as wearing three pairs of surgical gloves instead of two.