2nd hospital worker with Ebola informed CDC before flying

DALLAS (KABC) -- A second Dallas health care worker infected with Ebola traveled by plane on Monday, the day before she reported symptoms, health officials said.[br /][br /]The health care worker, identified by ABC News as 29-year-old Amber Vinson, had no symptoms of Ebola during the flight from Ohio to Texas. But the next morning, she developed a fever, and on Tuesday night, she tested positive for Ebola.[br /][br /]Vinson reported to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention that she did have an elevated temperature of 99.5 degrees prior to taking the flight from Cleveland to Dallas. According to a federal CDC official, since she did not meet the 100.4-degree threshold for a fever, she was "not told she could not fly."[br /][br /][post ID="240157" /][br /]Flight 1143 landed in Dallas at 8:16 p.m. Monday, stayed there overnight, and underwent a thorough cleaning before returning to service the next day. The cleaning was consistent with CDC guidelines, according to a Frontier Airlines statement released by CDC officials. The plane made five more flights on Tuesday before Frontier became aware of the Ebola risk. It has since been decontaminated four times and taken out of service.[br /][br /]The CDC is reaching out to the 132 passengers who were on Frontier Airlines Flight 1143 from Cleveland to Dallas/Fort Worth on Oct 13. Passengers were asked to call (800) CDC-INFO if they were on the flight. Public health professionals will interview passengers about the flight, answer their questions, and arrange for a follow-up. Those who are determined to be at any potential risk will be actively monitored, the CDC said.[br /][br /]The CEO of Frontier Airlines sent a letter to employees saying Frontier was notified by the CDC that the passenger may have been symptomatic earlier than initially suspected, including the possibility of possessing symptoms while onboard the flight.[br /][br /]From that flight, six crew members have been put on paid leave for 21 days. Also on board were two children from Texas who will be kept out of school for 21 days. The superintendent told parents: "It is safe for your students to attend school."[br /][br /][post ID="331356" /][br /]Vinson, who works at Texas Health Presbyterian Hospital, was monitoring herself for symptoms of Ebola, Dallas County Judge Clay Jenkins said. She traveled to Ohio before she knew that the first nurse had been diagnosed. She was in isolation within 90 minutes of reporting a fever, Jenkins said.[br /][br /]U.S. health officials said Vinson arrived at Emory University Hospital in Atlanta on Wednesday to receive treatment because it is one of four hospitals with specialized isolation units.[br /][br /][post ID="331556" /][br /]Vinson is among those who took care of Thomas Eric Duncan, who was diagnosed with Ebola after coming to the U.S. from Liberia. Duncan died Oct. 8. Vinson's colleague, 26-year-old nurse Nina Pham, has been hospitalized since Friday after catching Ebola while caring for Duncan. Pham is said to be in "improved condition."[br /][br /]It was believed Vinson was wearing personal protective equipment during all of her interactions with Duncan so they still do not know how she was exposed.[br /][br /]The new case [url HREF="http://abc7.com/health/health-directors-say-state-prepared-for-ebola;-nurse-union-disagrees/352640/" TARGET="" REL=""]lends support to nurses' claims this week that they have inadequate training and in some cases, protective gear[/url], to take care of Ebola patients.[br /][br /][post ID="348789" /][br /]Based on statements from nurses it did not identify, National Nurses United, a union with 185,000 members, described how Duncan was left in an open area of the emergency room for hours. It said staff treated Duncan for days without the correct protective gear, that hazardous waste was allowed to pile up to the ceiling and safety protocols constantly changed.[br /][br /]"We will continue to review and respond to any concerns raised by our nurses and all employees," the hospital said.[br /][br /]Infected Ebola patients are not considered contagious until they have symptoms. However, the director of the CDC said Vinson should not have traveled on a commercial airline.[br /][br /][post ID="352464" /][br /][url HREF="http://abc7.com/health/answering-common-questions-about-ebola-virus/352464/" TARGET="" REL=""]Answering common questions about Ebola virus[/url][br /][br /]President Barack Obama canceled scheduled campaign events on Wednesday to hold an emergency meeting at the White House regarding [url HREF="http://abc7.com/news/obama-ebola-monitoring-must-be-more-aggressive/352205/" TARGET="" REL=""]the government's response to the Ebola outbreak[/url].[br /][br /][i]The Associated Press contributed to this report.[/i][br /][br /][/url]