Here's what's scary about the Dallas health-care worker infected with Ebola: she knew she was treating an Ebola patient.
That's not supposed to happen. We've been told that Ebola can be stopped using modern medical protocols. An American health-care worker who is part of a team that knows it's treating an Ebola patient is supposed to be able to protect herself. So what happened?
READ MORE: 18 things you should know about Ebola
The simple answer is that the Ebola treatment protocols are complicated. It helps to look at this Centers for Disease Control and Prevention checklist. These are the instructions the federal agency gives caregivers for how to take off the protective gear that workers wear when treating patients with deadly diseases, like Ebola.
It is 21 items long. There are full sections on the gloves, and the gowns, and the face mask —each with multiple steps. Imagine trying to keep all this in mind while also trying to treat a patient:
