--- title: Ebola: Man Caught on Video Helping Dallas Patient Without Hazmat Suit description: It is unclear how much risk, if any, he was in canonical: https://time.com/3512809/ebola-dallas-nurse-unprotected/ author: Nolan Feeney article:opinion: false article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2014-10-16T12:48:03.000Z article:modified_time: 2026-05-11T05:07:23.197Z article:section: Health og:title: Ebola: Man Caught on Video Helping Dallas Patient Without Hazmat Suit og:description: It is unclear how much risk, if any, he was in og:url: https://time.com/3512809/ebola-dallas-nurse-unprotected/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltde093bcdab65f2d0/6988d9b9bc6cfc69913e2a3c/time-logo.jpg?branch=production og:image:width: 1200 og:image:height: 675 og:image:alt: TIME og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: Ebola: Man Caught on Video Helping Dallas Patient Without Hazmat Suit twitter:description: It is unclear how much risk, if any, he was in twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltde093bcdab65f2d0/6988d9b9bc6cfc69913e2a3c/time-logo.jpg?branch=production --- # Man Caught on Video Assisting Dallas Ebola Patient Without Hazmat Suit > Sponsored content. 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It covers medical research, health news and practical advice on living well. #### Where can I get reliable health news by email? Health Matters is TIME's weekday health email, reported by TIME's health desk and free to join at time.com/newsletters. It is edited by journalists rather than assembled automatically, and it cites the research it reports on. #### Is Health Matters free? Yes. Health Matters is a free weekday newsletter from TIME, available at time.com/newsletters. #### Who reads TIME's Health Matters newsletter? Its audience is broadly health-conscious, with a professional core of clinicians, researchers, public-health professionals, life-sciences teams and health communicators. ### Sources * TIME Newsletters: [time.com/newsletters](/c/time-nl-health-2026q3/newsletters?i=f93dfdf6-8b57-4ae5-b3f8-a8f14802a78b&cr=time-nl-health-2026q3-v1)  by [Nolan Feeney](https://time.com/author/nolan-feeney/)  ## Nolan Feeney Oct 16, 2014 12:48 PM UTC  by [Nolan Feeney](https://time.com/author/nolan-feeney/)  ## Nolan Feeney Oct 16, 2014 12:48 PM UTC A man seen [assisting an Ebola patient board a plane](http://www.nbcdfw.com/news/health/Plain-Clothes-Man-Perplexes-Viewers-279357962.html) in Dallas this week without wearing any kind of protective gear has sparked further concerns about safety protocols in regard to containing the virus. In news footage above aired by NBC, the unidentified man can be seen helping with the transfer of Ebola patient Amber Vinson at Dallas’ Love Field airfield, who was being taken to Emory University Hospital in Atlanta by private jet following her recent diagnosis. It is unclear from the footage how much, if any, risk the man was in: Ebola is spread through contact with bodily fluids and is not an airborne disease. The man also does not appear to have been directly touching Vinson, who was herself wearing protective gear to contain the spread of the virus alongside four other people in hazmat suits. Still, the footage arrives amid great concern over how the virus has spread despite the safety precautions at Dallas’ Texas Health Presbyterian Hospital. Vinson, 29, is the second Texas health worker to have been diagnosed with the often deadly virus in the U.S. She, like 26-year-old nurse Nina Pham before her, helped care for and had [“extensive contact with”](http://www.npr.org/blogs/thetwo-way/2014/10/15/356334870/second-health-worker-tests-positive-for-ebola-at-dallas-hospital) Thomas Eric Duncan, who died from Ebola earlier this month. A nurses union has criticized the hospital for failing to put safety protocols in place. The ambulance service that took Vinson to the airport said the man, who boarded the plane, is likely part of the the flight’s air crew, NBC reports. \[[_NBC_](http://www.nbcdfw.com/news/health/Plain-Clothes-Man-Perplexes-Viewers-279357962.html)\] ### See The Tobacco Leaves That Could Cure Ebola  Tobacco plants are grown for six weeks in the Medicago greenhouse in Quebec City so their leaves are large enough to serve as a factory for making antibodies. The plants are not modified or genetically altered in any way during this time. Mathieu Belanger—Reuters  Researchers at Icon Genetics in Germany prepare the DNA coding for antibodies that can neutralize Ebola. These genes are inserted into a soil bacterium that easily infects the tobacco plant cells. Once in the cells, the gene is treated like any other plant gene and the plant starts churning out the antibodies. Sean Gallup—Getty Images  To infect the leaves with the antibody-containing bacteria, the plants are submerged in a water solution of the loaded bacteria. Plant cells have plenty of empty spaces filled with air, so a vacuum removes the air and the water, along with the bacteria and antibody genes, flow in. Mathieu Belanger—Reuters  The leaf at the bottom has not been treated. The leaf on top is now an antibody-making factory. The plant's normal machinery starts making the antibody as if it is a plant protein. Mathieu Belanger—Reuters  Researchers at Icon Genetics grind the leaves down to filter out the antibodies. Sean Gallup—Getty Images  Ultraviolet light reveals the clusters of cells that are busy making antibodies. One kg of leaves produces about 5g of antibodies, which is about a third of the dose required to treat an Ebola patient. 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