Dallas Nurse Flew On A Commercial Airliner After Being Exposed To The Virus

The Centers for Disease Control (CDC) is considering whether the names of healthcare workers who are being monitored for signs of Ebola should be added to the government's no-fly list.

On Wednesday, it was revealed that Dallas nurse Amber Joy Vinson was cleared Monday to fly aboard a Frontier Airlines flight from Cleveland to Dallas even though she had called to say she had a slight fever. Vinson had treated Ebola patient Thomas Edward Duncan at Texas Health Presbyterian Hospital.

Fox News reports that Vinson had no symptoms other than the fever, which fell below the 100.4 threshold set by the CDC that would trigger a travel ban. On Wednesday, she was diagnosed with Ebola.

Vinson had flown to Cleveland a few days earlier, but had no symptoms during the outbound flight, according to CDC spokesman David Daigle.

CDC Director Dr. Thomas Frieden later admitted that Vinson should not have been allowed to travel, and said that going forward, no one who had been involved in Duncan's care would be allowed to travel "other than in a controlled environment." That would include a private car or charter flights, but not any public transportation.

Frontier took the airplane out of service for decontamination. Federal health officials are working to identify other people who had been on Frontier Flight 1143 on Monday. The airline said in a statement that the crew had been placed on 21 days paid leave even though the CDC cleared them to fly.

The CDC says on its website that anyone potentially exposed to Ebola should avoid travel on commercial airliners for 21 days after their possible exposure.

FMI: www.cdc.gov