US health officials issue alert to passengers on same plane as Ebola nurse

US health officials are alerting airline passengers who were on the same flight as a Texas nurse who was diagnosed with Ebola the following day.

The 132 passengers were on Frontier Airlines flight 1143 from Cleveland to Dallas-Fort Worth on Monday.

Hospital worker Nina Pham was involved in the care of a Liberian man who died of Ebola last week at the Texas Health Presbyterian Hospital in Dallas.

Crew members on the plane said the nurse showed no symptoms of Ebola during the flight.

The next morning she developed a high temperature, and on Tuesday night tested positive for the virus.

Infected Ebola patients are not considered contagious until they have symptoms.

The Centres for Disease Control and Prevention is asking the passengers to call the health agency so they can be monitored.

President Barack Obama has cancelled some engagements in order to convene a meeting with his cabinet on the outbreak.

The White House said Mr Obama is calling off a planned trip to the states of New Jersey and Connecticut and will instead speak to cabinet officials coordinating the US government’s Ebola response.

Mr Obama had planned to speak at a fundraiser for Senate Democrats in Union, New Jersey, and then headline a rally for Connecticut governor Dannel Malloy.

US airline stocks tumbled after news that the second health worker to be diagnosed flew on a commercial flight the night before reporting a fever.

Shares in the major American carriers were down between 4% and 6% in midday trading.

News of the second infection on US soil came three days after a nurse at the Texas Health Presbyterian Hospital, where Thomas Duncan - the first person to be diagnosed with Ebola in the US after flying in from Liberia - tested positive for the virus.

Nina Pham, 26, became the first person to contract Ebola within the United States, and the nurse’s infection raised questions about whether American hospitals and their staff are adequately prepared to contain the virus.

Mr Duncan died last week.

Ms Pham released a statement on Tuesday through Texas Health Presbyterian Hospital, saying she was “doing well,” and the hospital listed her as being in a good condition.

She has received a plasma transfusion from a doctor who beat the virus and the hospital CEO said medical staff members remain hopeful about her condition.

Ms Pham was in Mr Duncan’s room often, from the day he was placed in intensive care until the day before he died.

“I’m doing well and want to thank everyone for their kind wishes and prayers,” she said.

Ms Pham’s parents live in Fort Worth, where they are part of a close-knit, deeply religious community of Vietnamese Catholics. Members of their church held a special Mass for her on Monday. Her sorority sisters at the Texas Christian University held a candlelight vigil for her on Tuesday.

Ms Pham and other health care workers wore protective gear, including gowns, gloves, masks and face shields – and sometimes full-body suits – when caring for Mr Duncan. Health officials have said there was a breach in protocol that led to the infections, but they do not know where the breakdown occurred.