American Ebola patient in 'serious' condition
An American healthcare worker who tested positive for Ebola in Sierra Leone was in serious condition Friday after being admitted to a specialized hospital near the US capital for treatment, officials said.
The person, whose identity has not been revealed, was evacuated from Sierra Leone via a private charter plane and arrived at the National Institutes of Health Clinical Center early Friday.
"NIH physicians have evaluated the patient with Ebola virus disease and have determined that the patient's condition is serious. No additional details about the patient are being shared at this time," said an NIH statement.
Located in Bethesda, Maryland, the NIH Clinical Center has "high-level isolation capabilities and is staffed by infectious diseases and critical care specialists," it added.
The same facility treated US nurse Nina Pham, who was infected while caring for a Liberian man at a Texas hospital.
The man, Thomas Eric Duncan, died. Pham and another nurse who was also infected have since recovered.
On Thursday, the World Health Organization announced that the death toll from the world's largest Ebola outbreak had topped 10,000.
Most of the deaths in the outbreak, which began in late 2013, have been in the West African nations of Sierra Leone, Guinea and Liberia.
© 2015 AFP
