Ebola Outbreak Latest News 2015: American Health Worker Infected with Ebola Arrives in U.S. for Treatment
An American health worker who was diagnosed with the Ebola virus in Siera Leone arrived in the United States for treatment on Friday, Reuters reported.
The patient was admitted to the National Institutes of Health in Maryland.
The N.I.H. said the worker was volunteering services in an Ebola treatment unit in Sierra Leone and was flown back to the U.S. in isolation via a chartered flight.
"The individual will be admitted and treated at the N.I.H. Clinical Center Special Clinical Studies Unit, a high-level containment facility which is one of a small number of such facilities in the United States," the N.I.H .said in a statement. "No additional details about the patient are being shared at this time."
It added that this is the second patient with Ebola virus admitted to its Clinical Center, which is "specifically designed to provide high-level isolation capabilities and is staffed by infectious diseases and critical care specialists."
"N.I.H. is taking every precaution to ensure the safety of our patients, N.I.H. staff, and the public," the agency said.
"The unit staff is trained in strict infection control practices optimized to prevent spread of potentially transmissible agents such as Ebola," it added.
The individual is the 11th with the Ebola virus to be treated in the U.S.
Last year, the N.I.H. treated Texas nurse Nina Pham, who was diagnosed with the Ebola virus while she was working with a patient at Texas Health Presbyterian Hospital in Dallas.
Two other people who were exposed to the virus were admitted to the N.I.H. but were found not to be infected.
The Ebola virus has killed nearly 10,000 people in Sierra Leone, Liberia and Guinea.
A British healthcare worker who tested positive for Ebola while in Sierra Leone was brought back this week to Britain, according to Reuters.