Estimated read time: 1-2 minutes
This archived news story is available only for your personal, non-commercial use. Information in the story may be outdated or superseded by additional information. Reading or replaying the story in its archived form does not constitute a republication of the story.
DALLAS (AP) — The head disease expert at the Dallas County health department said during a panel discussion in Washington, D.C., that it was not equipped to handle last fall's Ebola scare on its own.
Dr. Wendy Chung, chief epidemiologist for Dallas County Health and Human Services, spoke during a panel discussion at the U.S. Capitol hosted by the Big Cities Health Coalition on how urban public health departments can battle infectious diseases such as Ebola and measles.
She said her team lacked the resources it needed to track and manage Ebola. Without enough staff or proper infrastructure, the Dallas department needed significant help from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
"We can't continue like this," Chung told The Dallas Morning News (http://bit.ly/1zkInjy ) after the panel. "This is not ideal."
Thomas Eric Duncan was diagnosed with Ebola at a Dallas hospital after traveling there from West Africa. He died Oct. 8. Two Dallas nurses who treated him also became infected, but survived.
While some called for more direct federal funding for cities, Chung said it's important to build a bigger staff. Dallas only has one epidemiologist per 300,000 residents, but Chung said the ideal level is one per 100,000.
"You need to invest in your people, and you need to invest in a particular type of people," she said.
___
Information from: The Dallas Morning News, http://www.dallasnews.com
Copyright © The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
