but first dr. varga with presbyterian will give us pertinent information pursuant to hippa and pursuant to the wishes of this family, as much pertinent information as he can share in an effort to give the public the information. dr. varga. >> thank you, judge. late last saturday evening, a preliminary blood test in a caregiver at texas health presbyterian hospital of dallas proved positive for ebola. this health care worker had been under the self monitoring regimen prescribed by the cdc. based on involvement and caring for the patient thomas eric duncan during his care that started on september 28th. individuals who are being monitored are required to take their temperatures twice daily. as a result of that process, the caregiver notified the hospital of imminent arrival and was immediately admitted to the hospital's isolation room. the entire process from the patient's self monitoring to the admission into isolation took less than 90 minutes. the patient's condition is stable. a close contact has also

dr. vargas was talking about her, he said her care was evolving, was how he described this in reference to the fact she was being transferred over to the n.i.h. it's a vague term. i'm not sure what she means by that. what he means by that. i apologize. we know that amber vinson perhaps came here to emory in this building behind me because they were concerned about whether or not they would have the staff to be able to care for her, even though there's obviously 76 staff members who are staying home, there are others that have been furloughed, a question, there's been concerns of nurses may walk out, so this may fall into that same category, is there enough staff to actually be able to take care of her. good news, sounds like she's doing well. doesn't sound like she's taken a decline in her health. that's prompting this decision, wolfe. >> clearly a concern maybe the texas hospital not up to the challenge. that's why they're moving both of these nurses. one has been moved to atlanta. the other o

dr. vargas spoked about that issue. the second is contract tracing and the graphic i provided outlines what we are doing there. the state of texas is doing a terrific job, making sure every single contact of mr. duncan is monitored. the temperature taken by a outreach worker every day. so of the 48 none have developed symptoms, none have developed fever. we are now looking at the contacts that may have had contact as the two syringes who became infected did, and our thoughts are with them. and we're delighted that n.i.h. is supporting the hospital in texas, and also that emery university is doing that as well. and the third area is after identification and contact tracing is effective isolation, and we are looking very closely as what may have happened the result in these two. >> and i assume if there are any new recommendations this protocol will be updated and redistributed? >> we always look at the data to see what we with can do to better protect americans. >> you are kind enough to share w

i direct it to dr. varga and then dr. frieden. we know yesterday a second health care worker that contracted ebola. miss amber vincent and now isolated treatment in emory university containment unit in atlanta. we must examine the protocol break downs that resulted in the contraction of ebola by two nurses that were in contact treating thomas duncan. doctor varga, in your written testimony, you say that the first nurse, miss pham, who contracted ebola was using full protective measures under the cvc protocol while treating mr. duncan. has your organization in texas identified where the specific breeches of protocol were that resulted in her infection or the inadequacy of the protocol. dr. varga that is for you. >> thank you, sir, we are investigating currently the source of this obvious exposure and we confirmed that was wearing protective equipment through the whole period of time as dr. frieden already mentioned with the diagnosis of ebola confirmed the level everyone personal protective equipment elevated to the hazmat style. w

and dr. vargaaid they never trained properly and that there wasn't any simulation or training drills on how to handle an ebola patient that walked in off the street into their emergency room. >>> new this morning, identifying the biggest threats to u.s. security. the former director of the national counterterrorism center matt olson told our jim sciutto that the khorasan group posed the most likely threat. >> one of the homegrown violent lone offenders in the united states perhaps. and the rise of isis and the number of people going to syria, whether to fight with isis or just fighting the conflict there against assad. the likelihood, i think, does go up because of the number of people who are there who have gained some degree of training and radicalization. >> olsen said that the u.s. lost track of terrorists after snowden's nsa leaks. saying snowden changed the way terrorists train. >>> the st. louis post dispatch said reports found that brown had marijuana in his system and that a wound to his h

>> correct. >> now dr. varga, can you hear me? >> yes, ma'am. >> your hospital received the first cdc health advisory about ebola on july 28th and this advisory was given to the directors of your emergency department, and signnage was posted in your emergency room, is that right? is that right? >> was this given to personnel, and was there person to person training for the staff at that time? >> yes or no? >> it was glymph to the emergency department. >> was with there training? >> no. >> on august 1st, your hospital received an email from the cdc specifying how to care for patients and advising intake personnel to ask a question about travel history from west africa, is that right. >> that's correct. now, on september 25th, almost two months after the first advisory received be i the hospital, thomas eric duncan showed up at texas presbyterian with a five tear spiked up to 103, and he told the personnel he had come from liberia, despite this, the hospital 7 him home, is that right. >> that's not completely correct. >> . >> the ho

so, dr. varga says that between that nurse who recorded the come from africa and the physician, there was a miscommunication there and that they have changed it. now, when someone comes in, they specifically ask about countries in west africa related to the ebola crisis and that is something that has changed because of the case of thomas eric duncan. jake? >> ed lavin dare rah, thank you so much. >>> they spent 21 days cut off from the rest of the world, but now that they are out of quarantine, the loved ones of ebola patient, thomas eric duncan, are doing their goes try to reclaim the lives they had before this virus turn third worlds upside down. joining me now live from lawyer is a family friend of duncan's fiancee, louise thoh. thank you so much for joining us. the family was released from quarantine yesterday. what was that first day like for them? >> well, first of all, louise is a community activist. the first day was our happy and sad home for louise and the family. the first thing she want

frieden is with us, and dr. varga will be with us by video, because it would be an understatement to say that the response to the first u.s.-based patient with ebola has been mismanaged, causing risks to scores of additional people. i know both of these gentlemen will be transparent and forthright in helping me to understand how we can improve our response, when yet another person shows up at the emergency room with these kind of symptoms. i appreciate the steps taken by cdc and customs to begin airport screenings, and as some call for cutting off all travel as the chairman said this won't be reasonable -- >> dr. sparro as we listen to the testimony, clearly there is anger, but walk us through what the public should be thinking right now, versus what it may be thinking. we're talking about a situation in the united states right now, where there may be less than a number of cases of people that might be sitting around your kitchen or living room table for dinner. so we're not talking about a wide-spread outbreak here i

dr. varga? >> no. >> thank you. the chair then advises you that under the rules of the house and the rules of the committee you are entitled to be advised by own sell. do any of you? >> no. >> everyone answers no. would you please rise and raise your right hand. i will swear you in. do you swear the testimony you are about to give is the truth, the whole truth and nothing but the truth? >> i do. >> thank you, doctor. >> you are under oath and subject to the penalties set forth in section 18 title 18 section 1001 of the united states code. we'll call upon you each to give a five-minute opening summary of your written statement. dr. frieden you're recognized for five minutes. >> thank you very much. chairman murphy, ranking member deget, chairman upton and ranking member waxman. i very much apreachate the opportunity to come before you to discuss the ebola epidemic and our response to it to protect americans. my name is dr. tom frieden. i'm trained as a physician, i'm trained in internal medicine, and infectious disea

dr. vargas spoke about that issue. the second is contact tracing, and the graphic i provided earlier outlines what we are doing very intensively in the state of texas in the county doing a terrific job along with our stuff making sure that every single contact with mr. duncan is monitored and the temperature taken by an outreach worker every day for 21 days good most of the way through that risk period. of the 48, none have developed symptoms, none have developed fever. --are looking at the contact the health care workers who may have had contact, as well as the 2 individuals who became affected, our thoughts are with them, and we are delighted that nih is supporting the hospital in texas and at emory university is doing that as well. the third area is after identification and contact tracing, effective isolation. we are looking closely at what might have happened to result in those exposures. i assume if there are any new recommendations based upon that analysis, the protocol that was sent out will be updated and redi

dr. vargas spoke about that issue. the second is contact tracing, and the graphic i provided earlier outlines what we are doing very intensively in the state of texas in the county doing a terrific job along with our stuff making sure that every single contact with mr. duncan is monitored and the temperature taken by an outreach worker every day for 21 days good most of the way through that risk period. of the 48, none have developed symptoms, none have developed fever. --are looking at the contact the health care workers who may have had contact, as well as the 2 individuals who became affected, our thoughts are with them, and we are delighted that nih is supporting the hospital in texas and at emory university is doing that as well. the third area is after identification and contact tracing, effective isolation. we are looking closely at what might have happened to result in those exposures. i assume if there are any new recommendations based upon that analysis, the protocol that was sent out will be updated and redi

and dr. varga will be with us by video. an understatement to say that the response to the patient withsed ebola has been mismanaged, scores ofsk to additional people. i know both of these gentlemen will be transparent and helping me to understand how we can improve yet another when person, and it will inevitably theen, shows up at emergency room with these kinds of symptoms. i appreciate the steps taken by customs to begin airport screenings. these steps are appropriate. call for cutting off all travel, as the chairman said, this won't be reasonable to stop anybody with ebola from coming into the united states. steps don't want to take that would endanger americans by haltfering with efforts to the outbreak in africa. you know, there's no such thing as fortress america when it comes to infectious diseases. and the best way to stop ebola be to stop this virus in africa. experts from doctors without have told us that a quarantine on travel would have quote, catastrophic impacts on west africa. also, earlier this week, the dir

now, dr. varga, we've still got you, i hope. >> yes, i'm here. >> have you seen my chart from the "new york times" about the protective gear? >> yes, ma'am. >> do you know which of these types of protective gear, ms. pham and other health care workers were wearing during those first two days? >> nina would have been wearing the second garb, the folks in the e.d. would be wearing the first picture. >> it's your testimony you don't really know how ms. pham, well, either one of these wonderful nurses were exposed, is that correct? >> that's correct. >> okay. i just want to say one last thing. i think that we've had a lot of discussion today about a lot of issues. and my take away is this. and dr. frieden, i guess i'm going to make a statement. i'd ask you to comment on it. seems to me that aside from trying to stop this ebola in africa, the thing we can do here is, number one, we can give better training to the people in our emergency rooms and first responders, not just send tm out e-mails or bulletin

frieden, as dr. varga just stated, health care personnel were following cdc protocols while treating mr. duncan, which include the use of so-called ppe, personal protective equipment. do the cdc guidelines, your guidelines on the use of ppe mirror current international standards that, by the way, are being adhered to, those international standards in west africa in those three countries, sierra leone, guinea and liberia? >> the international standards are something that evolve and change. we use different ppe in different settings. there's no single right answer. and this is something we're looking at very closely. our current guidelines are consistent with recommendations from the world health organization, is my understanding. >> yeah. i would think that there would need to be a, dr. frieden, i commend you for the job you're doing. and i know these are tough times for all of us, but i think some consistency is what we need. and that brings me to my next question. and my last question. and, again, to you,

dr. daniel varga, chief clinical us from texas. dr. varga? >> good afternoon, ranking members and members of the committee. dr. daniel varga. i'm the chief clinical officer executive for texas health resources. internal certified in medicine and have more than 24 years experience. i couldly sorry that not be with you in person today and i deeply appreciate the ourittee's understanding of situation and how important it is for me to be here in dallas andng this very challenging sensitive time. texas health presbyterian one of 13allas is wholly owned acute care hospitals and -- in the texas health resources system. hospital,898-bed treating some of the most complicated cases in north texas. texas health dallas is magnanted as a desiccated facility. it is one of the largest faith-based centers, and the largest in north texas in terms of patients served. our mission is to improve the the people in the communities we serve. and we care for all patients, regardless of their ability to pay. we serve diverse communities and as much, we provide one sta

tom frieden, as dr. varga just stated health care personnel were following cdc protocols while treating mr. duncan which include the use of so-called personal protective equipment. do the cdc guidelines, your guidelines on the use of tp e mirror current international standards that by the way are being adhered to those international standards in west africa in those three countries, sierra leone, and guinea and liberia. >> international standards are something that have been changed. we use different ppb in different settings. there is no single right answer and this is something we're looking at closely. current guidelines are consistent with recommendations from the who is my understanding. >> i would think there would need to be, i commend you for the job you are doing and i know these are tough times for all of us, but some consistency is what we need. that brings me to my next question and my last question. does the issue of elevated temperature -- is it 100.4, 100.5499.6? there is great confusion. initia

an interesting thing we heard from dr varga is that this person was wearing full protective gear when caring for thomas eric duncan, but nonetheless contracted the virus anyway. how is that possible. >> taking off the protective gear is the point of time, point of contact where you are at most high risk for attracting ebola. you are taking off gowns, gloves, et cetera, contaminated with bodily fluids. the leading experts are the doctors without borders, and they have a buddy system, where someone watches you tag things off. they -- you take things off. they have a count town, to stop, take a break, making sure you don't rush. it's important that health care workers are trained in putting it op, but such that when you take it off you are not contall nating yourself -- contaminating yourself. they need to be trained to take it off. it's an important part of the training >>> there were two pools of people mon stored. a high and low risk. this came from the lower risk pool. what does that tell you about the possibility that someone else could contract it. >> they could be considered lower

dr. daniel varga chief clinical officers joining us from texas on video conference, dr. varga. >> good afternoon, chairman murphy, voir chase, ranking member and members of the committee. senior executive vice president for texas health resources. combined experience. and healthcare administration. i am truly sorry that i could not be with you in person today, the combined experience and patient practice, medical education, and healthcare administration. i am truly sorry that i could not be with you in person today. and i deeply appreciate the committee's understanding of our situation and how important it is for me to be here in dallas, during this very challenging and sensitive time. texas health, presbyterian hospital dallas is one of 13 whole i-owned acute care hospitals in the texas health resources system. we are an 898 bed hospital treating some of the most complicated cases in north texas in terms of -- in north texas excuse me. texas health dallas is recognized as a magnate designated facility for excellence in nursing services by the american nurses credentialin

dr. vargauncan on the first e.r. visit? and can you talk specifically about what sort of contact this worker might have had, whether it was blood or vomit? >> i can't speak specifically to the type of contact. this is a worker who works at presbyterian who was involved in the care of the second visit. >> the second? >> yes. >>reporter: was it someone considered in the high-risk pool? >> no. >> reporter: was it in a lower-risk pool? >> yes. >> reporter: what have you done to protect other health worker who iss who during the first visit there was concern about the ebola virus here, what have you done to make sure other worker who is were involved like this worker was are safe. and can you take about the specific measures taken on to that point? >> so all of our workers are following cdc recommended precautions. and to be any more specific than that would be speculating. but all of our workers are following cdc prescribed precautions. when that they interact with the ebola patients. >> reporter:

with me today is dr. vargaresident, texas health presbyterian, who will speak next. mayor mike rawlings will speak after dr. varga, and we'll take some very limited questions after that time. we're giving you the very limited information that we have at present. we are continuing to get information and will be updating you throughout the day in a variety of ways, and we have some very important work that i need to get to quick, the mayor and i need to get to at the conclusion of this, so dr. varga? >> excuse me, thank you. good morning, my name is dr. daniel varga, i'm the chief clinical officer for texas health resources. i want to thank the mayor, the judge, cdc, state health officials and the dallas county health department for their continued partnership as we manage this unprecedented crisis. as others have said this morning, today's development while concerning and unfortunate is continued evidence that our monitoring program is working. currently as judge jenkins says we continue to monitor 75 health car

frieden here with us, and dr. vargawill be with us by video, be ane it would understatement to say that the response to the first u.s.-based patient with ebola had been mismanaged, causing risk to scores of additional people. i know both of these gentlemen will be transparent and helping me to understand how we can improve our response when yet another person, and it will inevitably happen, shows up at the emergency room with these kind symptoms. i appreciate the steps taken by airportcustoms to begin screenings. these steps are appropriate. and as some call for cutting off all travel, as the chairman said, this won't be reasonable to be able to stop anybody with ebola from coming into the united states. and we don't want to take steps would endanger americans by interfering with efforts to halt outbreak in africa. there's no such thing as fortress america when it comes diseases.ous and the best way to stop ebola is going to be to stop this in africa. experts from doctors without us that all quarantine on travel would h

is dr. varga, executive vice vie president of the hospital.ayor mike rollings will speak and we'll take very limited questions after that time. we're giving you the very limited information that we have at present. we are continuing to get information and will update you throughout the day in a variety of ways. we have some very important work that i need to get to quick, that the mayor and i need to get to at the conclusion of this, so dr. varga. >> thank you. good morning, i am the chief clinical officer for texas health resources. i want to thank the mayor, judge, c.d.c., state health officials and dallas county health department as we manage this unprecedented crisis. today's development, while concerning and unfortunate is continued evidence that our monitoring program is working. currently, we continue to monitor 75 health care workers in conjunction with the state. while i cannot discuss patient specifics, i can tell you this new patient was involved in the care of mr. duncan, the original patient whose passing we still mourn. our inter

i would like to start with dr. varga. in regard to the two nurses that were exposed. my understanding is one of the nurses first nurse, ms. fan,en was exposed in the emergency room and that correct. >> the first nurse was exposed in the emergency room, shark. >> no, that would not be correct. nina was one of our icu nurses. when mr. duncan was transferred from the emergency department. >> so that was sometime from september 28th to the 30th is that correct? okay, is then the second nurse, ms. vincent, was she also an icu nurse. >> that's correct. >> so they were exposed after the point before recognizing that ebola was being questioned is that correct? >> no, that's not correct. the nurses from the time they first had contact with mr. duncan were in personal protective equipment, ard cooing to the cdc guidance. nina, cared for mr. duncan -- >> i am going to stop you right there, so they were already using universal precautions but also were using some of the more isolation and just answer yes or no. >> yes. >> okay. to that, this, of course, on october second, excuse

so dr. varga? >> excuse me, thank you. good morning, my name is dr. th. i want to thank state health officials, cdc and dallas county health department for their continued partnership as we manage this unprecedented crisis. as said, this morning's development, while concerning is continued evidence our monitoring program is working. currently as judge jenkins says, we continue to monitor 75 health care workers in conjunction with the state. while it i cannot discuss patient specifics, i can tell you the patient was involved in the care of mr. duncan, the original patient whose passing we still mourn. our interest at this time first and foremost is making certain that both our current patients receive the care they need. that will remain our focus. the health and safety of our patients and employees remains our highest priority and we will continue to coordinate with officials at all levels to meet the challenge that ebola presents to our hospital, our community, and our country. a lot is being said about what may or may not have occurred to cause some

hanks for your time tonight. >> glad to be here. >> dr. vargastimony with an admission of guilt when it comes to training. what's your reaction to that? >> it's always mice to hear an a apolo apology. i'm afraid it's a little late and it's very hard for us who have been sounding the warning signal for so long. i guess my feeling is thank god someone's listening now, but if this is what it it takes to get anyone to listen to us, we're up a creek here so to speak. i would say that his acknowledgement thattive in was done or what should have been done wasn't done is something, but how do you look at those two nurses in other hospitals now fighting for their lives somehow do you talk to your crew, your staff at your hospital now and expect them to trust you? >> your reaction to today's interview with briana aguirre. >> i have to tell you that i almost broke down and cried, and i could see she was on the verge of tears and it's so, so utterly familiar to us. it's ebola now, but it's been other things in the past. when we warn, it's as you said, it is

dr. varga? >> thank you, judge.ate last saturday evening, a preliminary blood test of a caregiver at texas presbyterian hospital, dallas, was positive. based on involvement in caring for the patient, thomas eric duncan during his care that started on september 28th. now, individuals who are being monitored are required to take their temperatures twice daily and they were immediately admitted to the isolation room. the entire process, from the patient's self-monitoring to the admission into isolation took less than 90 minutes. the patient's condition is stable. a close contact has also been proactively placed in isolation. the caregiver and the family, as already stated, has requested total privacy. the judge mentioned, we've known that further cases of ebola are a possibility among those in constant with mr. duncan before he passed away last week. the system of monitoring quarantine was established to protect those who worked with mr. duncan as early as possible and getting those individuals into treatment immediate

dr. vargas' statement honesty that we made mistakes. i did not hear that for many of you, and that troubles me, because what has happened here is your protocol depends on everyone being honest 100% of the time. i am not a medical expert. i study behavior as a psychologist. people are not honest 100% of the time. secondly, it relies on tools that take temperatures. a 1 in 21 chance they may register something. and a person can mask it. that is not helpful. we also have to recognize human behavior, the protocols may not be followed. watch you put it on and watch it , take it off and do things. the example of how this failed was there was an assumption, you said cdc granted travel. the assumption that you use all the right protective gear, but we looked at this and you are not aware of what she wore. to this extent, these are my recommendations. i believe we need an immediate ban on commercial and nonessential travel from guinea, liberia, and sierra leone, until we have an accurate screening process to treat the disease. a mandatory court

. >> well, it was pretty interesting when you listen to dr. varga, who is the doctor from dallas that they are not quite sure where in the process the two nurses were exposed. there seems to be some gaps in time, and an understanding of exactly what they were doing at every molt. they are trying to piece that all together. so i think it is still too early to tell. >> what do you want to see from the c.d.c. moving forward? looks like this idea of sending inning the swat teams to take over care that seems like a step in the right direction. >> yeah, i think that makes great sense. they are the only organization that has the expertise so i think that makes perfect sense, and again, it seems like all the agencies are talking to each other. she was focusing on was with to make sure that all these different connections are made very efficiently, and seem leslie so i think they are committed to getting it right, and i think maybe possibly beefing up the kind of specialty hospital capacity we with have, if they are four regional hospitals that can handle th

. >> with me today is dr. varga executive vice president of texas health presbyterian who will speak next. the mayor will speak after the doctor and we will take some very limited questions after that. we are giving you the limited information we have at present. we are continuing to get information. i will update you throughout the day in a variety of ways. we have very important work i need to get to the mayor and i need to get to at the conclusion of this. doctor? >> thanking. i am the chief clinical officer for texas health resources. i everyone that the mayor, the judge, centers for disease control, state health officials and the dallas county health department for continued partnership as we manage this unprecedented crisis. as others have said this morning, the development, while concerning and unfortunate is continued of the our monitoring program is working. currently, we continue to monitor 75 health care workers in condition junction with the state. while i cannot discuss patient specifics the new patient

dr. vargas appeared in a video conference, apologized for the incorrect initial diagnosis of the first ebolaient in the u.s. then he faced questions on the hospital's lack of preparedness. this is where it gets very american, very local, let's watch. >> your hospital received the first cdc health advisory about ebola on july 28th. it was given to the directors of your emergency departments and signage was posted in your emergency room, is that right? >> yes, ma'am. >> now was this information given to your emergency room personnel and was there any person-to-person training at texas presbyterian for the staff at that time? yes or no? >> was given to the emergency department. >> was there actual training? >> no. >> congressman, this is where we get to that old political problem of mistakes were made, in the passive voice, but nobody made any mistakes. mistakes were made by what human being and now we're finding this guy, you put in the box or the barrel today. he's the guy getting hit with this. who is the responsible officers that make sure that hospitals handle the first case properly? who'

. >> that's dr. vargaent of texas health resources testifying before a congressional committee. while he acknowledges that the hospital has learned some important lessons, it likely brings little comfort to the staff and patients. many people now are afraid to be treated at that hospital, not to mention that 76 workers are still being monitored for responsible ebola exposure. and what about the people on the flight with the infected nurse, nurse number two? joining me is mayor mike rawlings. at that meeting, dallas county commissioners are considering a disaster declaration saying that dallas county has the potential to suffer injury, loss, or threat of life resulting from the ebola virus. what kind of widespread damages are you anticipating? >> well, look, i am cautiously hopeful but i'm planning that we may have another case or two of this. and yesterday was not a good day. having that second nurse was a great disappointment to everybody and we have decided to ramp it up significantly. i testified in fro

dr. daniel varga. and congresswoman, thank you so much for your time.t is the first question you wish to have answered today? >> well, i want to know what we're going to be doing to address the problem in west africa. in addition to that in the united states. we have a -- weak health care infrastructure in africa. this is where the death rate is very high. and we want to make sure that we can stop it where it is starting. in the meantime, i do want to know what the protocols are. obviously the nurses in dallas thought they were doing what they were supposed to do. and if there is a problem with the protocols or if they were just not enforced sufficiently. i want to know about the development of a work force. there are going to be nurses in the audience today who feel they have not been at the table to develop the implementation or the protocols and that they're not adequately trained as well. and i think there will be a discussion about what the travel rules are. i just got off a plane from o'hare in chicago. and talked to the director of public health

i would like to start with dr. varga in regard to the two nurses that were exposed. my understanding is the first nurse, nurse pham was exposed in the emergency room, is that correct? >> repeat the question. >> the first nurse was exposed in the emergency room. is that correct? >> no, that would not be correct. nina was one of our icu nurses and first came in contact with mr. duncan when mr. duncan was transferred from the emergency department to the e.d. >> that was sometime from september 28th to the 30th, is that correct? >> that's correct. >> the second nurse, ms. vincent, was she also an icu nurse? >> correct. >> so they were exposed after a point when we recognized that ebola was being looked at, is that correct? >> no nurses from the first time they had contact with mr. duncan were in personal protective equipment according to the cdc guidelines. nina, cared for mr. duncan -- >> they were already using universal precautions but also were using some of the more isolation and just answer yes or no? >> yes. >> okay. to that, i would like to move to dr. frieden. t

>> i'm sorry, the close contact of -- >> dr. varga said something about that someone who was a close contact of the new patient has been put in isolation. >> yeah, sorry. so now you begin that process of trying to figure out all of the contacts that this health care worker had been in touch and that is obviously something we saw going into place when thomas eric duncan was diagnosed with the ebola virus. i think officials here said they had some 19 cdc detectives on the ground and part of that process. 19 cdc detectives on the ground and now part of that process will include formulating the list of all of the contacts that this particular health care worker had, how many people were in her apartment, how many people has she been in touch with over the last few days, just how far back they will need to do that is obviously something the cdc teams will have to take care of. but that list will be very crucial in reaching out to all of them. i think that's why you're also seeing this initial step this morning of alerting and they mentione

dr. daniel varga's statement of honesty. that we made mistakes. i did not hear that for many of you and that troubles me. because what has happened here is your protocol depends on everyone being honest 100% of the time. i am not a medical expert. i study behavior as a psychologist. people are not honest 100% of the time. secondly it relies on tools that , take temperatures. one in 21 chance that they may register something. that is not helpful. we also have to recognize human behavior, the protocols may not be followed. watch you put it on and watch it taken off and do things. the example of how this failed was there was an assumption, you said cdc granted travel. the assumption that the nurse used all the right protective gear, but we looked at this and you are not aware of what she wore. to this extent, these are my recommendations. i believe we need an immediate ban on commercial and nonessential travel until we have an accurate screening process to treat the disease. a mandatory quarantines order for any american who has traveled to or return

dr. daniel varga. the head of the hospital being criticized on capitol hill, and newspapers around the country. and dr. richard besser spoke with him in an abc exclusive. >> reporter: your hospital is the first one where a patient walked in off the street and you missed it, how did that happen? >> we were well prepared to take care of a patient who walked in holding a sign that says, i have ebola. and a couple weeks ago, it was a gentleman walking in off the street with non-specific symptoms who hadn't had ebola. it's a different concept than diagnosing ebola than being able to treat ebola and being prepared to diagnose it. and we were short on that. i think we've all in the health care community underestimated the challenge of diagnose. >> reporter: when mr. duncan came in the second time, he was quite sick. if he hadn't been sent home the first time, do you think he'd be alive today? >> obviously, mr. duncan's second visit comes with a neon sign. we're proud of how we managed that. really wished we pi

. >> hi, this is for dr. varga. kevin sack, "new york times."is happening now? i mean, obviously we're all empathetic with what you guys are going through. one case could be looked at as a possible breach. it seems like a second case might suggest some sort of institutional problem. >> i don't think we have an institutional problem. i think the biggest challenge we have right now is obviously first and foremost the care of two patients we have and the ongoing screening of folks in the community. our emergency department has continued to have folks come in. it's a tribute to the information that's been out there in the community. and handle folks through that very appropriately. think the case of this patient here shows the ability to intake those folks, get them into isolation and manage them has been very effective. our personal protective equipment and infection control inside the hospitals. we don't have an answer for this right now. >> thank you, right down here. >> was this person a nurse? >> that is private information. it was part of the

dr. daniel vargas spoke by video conference to house lawmakers on capitol hill, seeking answers to early mistakes if handling ebola cases. >>> stop ebola now! we are nina pham! >> hundreds of nurses hit the streets of oakland claiming one of california's largest medical providers is not ready to deal with an ebola outbreak. jody hernandez was there as nurses marched to the front steps of kaiser oakland. >> we are nina pham! >> reporter: hundreds of kaiser nurses from northern california are banding together. they marched through the streets of oakland to kaiser headquarters today to demand greater protection from ebola. >> personal protective equipment, adequate training, which means hands-on training. not just a video. >> reporter: kaiser nurses say they have not been properly trained and claim the necessary protective equipment isn't available. the infection of two nurses in texas has them terrified. >> i'm personally upset and i actually am afraid. if someone slips through the cracks like mr. duncan, what's going to happen? >> if one of us gets exposed we have ties to our community. t

dr. daniel varga dismissed accusations of a systematic failure but vowed to find out how the nurses were exposed. >> we're looking at every element of our personal protective equipment and infection control inside the fspitals. we don't have an answer for this right now. >> reporter: the nurses' union sent a letter to the president. scott, they want hazmat suits, respirators and continuous ebola treatment training. >> pelley: anna, thank you. half of the cases of ebola in the world are in liberia, west africa, more than 4,000. debora patta found nurses there are protecting themselves. >> reporter: every morning diana sarteh prays before leaving for work. sarteh is head nurse at monorove yes's 35-bed ebola treatment unit. her four-year-old daughter anniesitu kisses her good-bye. her four-year-old daughter anniesitu kisses her good-bye. >> it's dangerous, but i save >> it's dangerous, bad when i hear that someone dies from ebola and >> reporter: j.f.k. hospital has only limited resources, but there are still strict protocols to follow for ebola nurses. everyone is screened before they ente

dr. daniel varga admitted his staff had not been trained to treat ebola before thomas eric duncan arrived in the e.. >> 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, and we are deeply sorry. >> michael burgess of texas wanted to know why the two nurses duncan infected have been evacuated from dallas. >> so is the reason she is having to be removed because the personnel are no longer willing to stay at presbyterian the take care of her? >> texas presbyterian is really dealing with a difficult situation. they're working very hard because of the events of the past week, they are now dealing with at least 50 health care workers who may potentially have been exposed. >> reporter: he insisted the best way to prevent more cases is to fight the virus at its source, across the atlantic. >> what we're finding is that it's moving quickly, and there's a real risk it will spread to other parts of africa. therefore, the key ingredient to progress there i

dr. daniel varga for the first time opened up about the struggles his facility has dealt with during the ebola crisis. >>e we didn't perform up to our expectations have devastated us. >> reporte specifically, the initial misdiagnosis of ebola for the first time in the history of the united states, somebody with ebo walked in the front door and we missed that. varga also acknowledgt his staff was not adequately trainea and did not wear full body hazmat suits until three days after duncan was admitted. >> clearly, the protection was inadequate for nina and for amber. you've got two sick nurses. >> i got two sick nurses. >> r both of the in yours have been moved to specialized treat facilities. nina pham is at the national institutes of health, amber vinson at emory university hospital. 75 of their co-workers are self monitoring and still considered at risk. >> the good news is that that window is about running out and we're hopeful for that. they're tired right now. they do resent, you know, kind of constant negative coverage. but they're resilient. they're going to bounce back. >> rep a r

dr. daniel varga, executive vice president of texas health resources will be speaking tomorrow.alk about that. there has been a rinse late this evening from the hospital. >> well, he is going to apologize for some of the mistakes that were made and misinformation given out. they're not actually addressing the very detailed allegations made by that nurses' union about, you know by the nurses themselves. i think that's critical for the hospital to come forward about. >> ebola screenings at big international air ports around the country. 132 people who flew on the airline. they will be concerned. they will be concerned. and sanjay said the chances, are almost nil, of them contracting anything. they will find them. frontier has information in t. this is going to. this is a process where, airlines, hotels, hospitals, suddenly taken by surprise in these situations. and that's what has to be dealt with. >> thank you. thank you, anderson. thank you, richard. thank you, san jay. stand by, our breaking news. amber vincent rushed to emory university hospital in atlanta tonight. there is un

dr. daniel varga. he overseas the hospital with the ebola patients down in dallas.ll testify they did make mistakes. he will apologize. and handing them a flyer about what to do is not the same as making sure they are trained on how to get in and out of that protective equipment. we will be watching for all of that testimony here on the hill today. eun. >> tracie potts, live on capitol hill. tracie, thank you. >>> there are people out there trying to crash in on this ebola crisis. three people have been caught trying to sell treatments or therapist for ebola. the fda has warned the businesses now. there are no approved drugs or vaccines to treat or prevent ebola. we have the latest breaking information. . >>> spreading hate messages in loud on county. they have been popping up a dozen times in ashburn. the loudoun county board of supervisors asking for a $5,000 reward. >>> this morning a principaln fairfax is accused of discriminating against mothe and phaorb tt rkgast h. marie lemon. lemon insisted they only hire pretty young blondes who don't have families and wou