Second Ebola case in Texas tests whether U.S. can handle outbreak

The announcement that a second person in the United States has been tested positive for Ebola is emerging as a crucial test for how Texas is responding to the virus and whether a more centralized, national response is needed in such high-profile health cases. Texas officials have argued that they have an effective system in place for dealing with Ebola, and there are signs that the system led to the early diagnosis of the nurse, who has not been named. Yet the fact that a second person has been diagnosed in the U.S. is a concern, officials say. Each state is in charge of its own response to a potential diagnosis of Ebola. The federal CDC merely advises and prepares.

The states can follow all the guidelines and take the advice, which they usually do, but they don’t have to. So there really is no one entity that’s controlling things.

Robert Murphy, director of the Center for Global Health at Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine

Some lawmakers are questioning that arrangement. Sen. John McCain (R) of Arizona called on President Obama to create a Ebola “czar” who could coordinate a national response and work across state and federal agencies. Two Texas Republicans – Sen. John Cornyn and Rep. Michael McCaul – also called on U.S. Customs and Border Protection to expand Ebola screenings to George Bush airport in Houston and Dallas-Fort Worth airport. Also Sunday, a man said he recently traveled to West Africa and was experiencing Ebola-like symptoms was transferred to one of Boston’s top hospitals under police escort, officials said.