Some people who’ve been exposed to the Ebola virus are facing resistance and the stigma that goes along with the virus, even though they don’t have it.
Each day that passes in Dallas County without a new case of the Ebola virus is a small victory in the battle against it spreading.
Day by day, more people are falling off the monitoring watch list.
But now, health officials are dealing with another problem, the negative stigma associated with being linked to the outbreak.
Amber Vinson and Nina Pham, two nurses who contracted the virus but are cured, now face the challenge of getting back to a normal life.
“They are deserving of being valorized,” said Dallas County Judge Clay Jenkins. “Not stigmatized in anyway.”
Jenkins has been in close communication with those affected by the virus, including Louise Troh and her family.
They are all out of isolation and never showed any symptoms of the virus after having contact with Thomas Eric Duncan, who died from Ebola on October 8.
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Troh and her family still can't find a permanent place to live after her apartment was decontaminated and her possessions destroyed.
“I think she’s been surprised that there has been this hesitation,” said Wilshire Baptist Church Pastor George Mason. “She continually has been disappointed in every time we thought we had a place for her to live, only that they didn't want to take a risk.”
Mason says Troh's been talking to her employer and she might be back to work soon, working part-time as a certified nurse’s assistant.
“They’ve been through literally hell and they've dealt with it with grace and love and understanding,” said Jenkins.
Texas Health Presbyterian Hospital Dallas has also taken a hit. Hospital visits and revenue are down.
