A Dallas lab worker believed to have handled specimens from the Liberian man who became the first person to be diagnosed and die of Ebola on U.S. soil is quarantined aboard a Carnival Cruise ship off the coast of Belize.
The Belize coast guard is not allowing the ship to dock or its passengers to disembark, although the unidentified woman is being monitored and has not shown symptoms, according to State Department spokeswoman Jen Psaki. She was identified through the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s effort to track everyone who came into contact with Thomas Eric Duncan, the man who died Oct. 8 at Texas Health Presbyterian Hospital after infecting at least two nurses who have been identified and are being treated.
"The employee has been self-monitoring, including daily temperature checks, since Oct. 6, and has not had a fever or demonstrated any symptoms of illness," Psaki said in a statement. "It has been 19 days since the passenger may have processed the since deceased patient’s fluid samples."
Psaki said a doctor aboard the ship has monitored the woman and confirmed she is in good health. She and a traveling companion have voluntarily remained isolated in a cabin.
Carnival Cruise Linessaid the CDC contacted the company on Wednesday to alert them that a passenger who may have had contact with Duncan's specimens was aboard its ship.
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