Colleagues and friends hailed the two Dallas nurses who contracted the Ebola virus after taking care of Thomas Duncan amidst controversies blaming them for their illness.

After they were scapegoated for allegedly not following protocol while taking care of Duncan, Dallas nurses Nina Pham and Amber Vinson were both dubbed as 'heroes' for being on the front line in the war against Ebola that has already taken thousands of lives.

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Coming to their defense are colleagues and friends who have utmost faith that the nurses at the Texas Health Presbyterian Hospital did their best to 'prudently' follow precautionary measures.

"Nurses are the ones at the bedside, sacrificing their own lives to care for the ill, so that their loved ones can continue to live their day to day lives. The world needs to take a step back and for a second try to understand the care that nurses provide day in and day out," said Vinson's friend Falisha Lee.

Meanwhile, 26-year-old Pham was described by co-workers as a 'caring' and 'brilliant' medical worker with some citing that those characteristics were the reason she was chosen to be part of the team to handle the first case of Ebola in the U.S.

Vinson, a 29-year-old American confirmed to have Ebola, had been repeatedly criticized after she recently travelled to Ohio to plan her wedding.

According to reports, news about her contracting the virus sent fear spreading in northeastern Ohio where several nurses who had been in a flight with her, were sent on a paid leave while two schools and a bridal shop were closed.

Pham, however, self-monitored after Duncan died and had immediately reported to health authorities after discovering that she had fever which is one of the symptoms of Ebola.

Vinson is currently being treated at the Emory University Hospital while Pham had recently been transferred to a National Institutes of Health medical facility.

TagsUS, CDC, Nina Pham, Amber Vinson, nurse, Hero