Obama calls for action to ensure U.S. medical system can handle Ebola

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[October 13, 2014]  WASHINGTON (Reuters) - President Barack Obama wants federal authorities to take additional steps to ensure the American medical system is prepared to follow correct protocols in dealing with Ebola following news of an apparent breach in Dallas, the White House said in a statement Sunday.

Obama was briefed about the diagnosis of a second case of Ebola in Texas, where a healthcare worker has contracted the virus after treating a Liberian who died of the disease at a Dallas hospital last week.

Dr. Thomas Frieden, director of the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, said on Sunday that at some point during the care of the original patient there was a breach in protocol which resulted in the infection of the healthcare worker.

Obama said federal authorities should "take immediate additional steps to ensure hospitals and healthcare providers nationwide are prepared to follow protocols should they encounter an Ebola patient."

(Reporting by Valerie Volcovici; Editing by Jim Loney and Lisa Shumaker)

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