Ebola Threat In US - A new Ebola threat may be arriving in the US as an American health care worker who experienced high-risk exposure to the virus working in Sierra Leone is being transported to a Nebraska hospital for observation and possible treatment. The Ebola threat in US was announced by hospital officials Saturday.
The patient has arrived at the Nebraska Medical Center in Omaha around 2 p.m. CST Sunday, according to the Seattle Times.
As the new Ebola threat in US arrived, paramedics handled the transfer wearing full-body protective gear. They drove the patient to the medical institution since it has a specialized biocontainment unit, according to the Associated Press.
Nebraska Medical Center's lead for the specialized biocontainment unit, Dr. Phil Smith, said that the patient "is not ill and is not contagious."
"However, we will be taking all appropriate precautions. This patient will be under observation in the same room used for treatment of the first three patients and will be carefully monitored to see if Ebola disease develops," he added of the Ebola threat in US.
Meanwhile, Hospital Spokesman Taylor Wilson said that doctors and nurses are wearing full protective gear and taking the same precautions they did when treating patients with Ebola. Even though this new patient has not yet tested positive for the virus, they are taking extra precaution with this being an Ebola threat in US.
The new patient will reportedly be observed for any signs of the virus during a 21-day incubation period.
Three patients with Ebola have already been treated at the same hospital. Rest assured the Ebola threat in US is treated with special precaution since despite two recovering from the hospital, one has died.
The patients include Dr. Richard Sacra, treated and released in December; NBC News freelance cameraman Ashoka Mukpo, was released in October; and Dr. Martin Salia, arrived extremely ill but died after less than two days of treatment, reports NBC News.
There are still few details released about the latest Ebola threat in US. According to hospital officials, he or she would have to agree to disclose any information first. Doctors have meanwhile assured that early treatment would increase the chances of surviving the virus.
Details about the new Ebola threat in US may be limited, but it appears that the Omaha hospital is well-equipped and experienced to handle such cases. The World Health Organization has announced that more than 8,000 have already died from the Ebola outbreak in West Africa which started about a year ago. The epidemic, termed the deadliest in history, has been circulating around the countries of Sierra Leone, Liberia and Guinea.
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