As news of a Dallas nurse contracting the Ebola virus due to an unknown "breach of protocol" in treating Thomas Eric Duncan when he returned to Texas Presbyterian for a second time made headlines on Sunday, medical experts are raising concerns about the safety of thousands of U.S. troops being committed to help contain the deadly outbreak in West Africa, TheBlaze reported.
Since the nurse got transmitted with Ebola despite wearing protective medical gear and being well-trained, expert Richard Besser stated that sending 3,000 American military personnel to West Africa to help fight the outbreak could pose a "very real" possibility of U.S. soldiers being infected with the virus, he told ABC's "This Week" on Sunday morning.
Next week, at least 700 members of the U.S. army are set to travel to Liberia, with only 150 being quipped with safety training to protect themselves from the virus. Their main aim will be to build Ebola care centers and train healthcare workers in the country, the 101st Airborne Division of the U.S. military said.
Pointing out that U.S. troops would be tasked with "logistics, engineering, command and control, and setting up field hospitals," Dr. Anthony Fauci of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases discounted the possibility on Sunday's show.
"Certainly going over there, they could indirectly get contact, but their primary mission is not to take care of patients," Fauci said.
However, Besser had a different point of view, according to Mediaite.
"Right now we have a situation where only 20 percent of patients with Ebola are being treated in treatment units," Besser said. "So there are a lot of patients who have Ebola who are not in a protected environment. So the possibility of a soldier getting Ebola is very real and something we have to be ready for."
Meanwhile, soldiers attended Thursday's training held at the gym of Fort Campbell to learn more about the disease, such as how it is transmitted and its symptoms, according to USA Today.
"We're so used to being in Iraq and Afghanistan, where you know what you're going to get. This is a lot different," Sgt. Jesus Sanchez told the soldiers. The sergeant admitted that he is worried, but urged the soldiers to focus on helping people.
