US confirms Texas health care worker who cared for Ebola patient tests positive

DALLAS – Federal officials have confirmed that a health care worker who provided hospital care for an Ebola patient in Dallas has tested positive for the virus.

Texas officials earlier Sunday said preliminary tests showed the worker had been exposed to Ebola, but they were awaiting confirmation from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. That confirmation came Sunday afternoon.

Officials say the unidentified worker was in full protective gear when she provided care to Liberian Thomas Eric Duncan during his second visit to Texas Health Presbyterian Hospital.

This is the first known case of the disease being contracted or transmitted in the U.S.

The health care worker reported a fever Friday night as part of a self-monitoring regimen required by the Atlanta-based Centers for Disease Control.

Duncan died Wednesday in Dallas.