American patient with Ebola gets treated in US hospital

An American citizen who contracted Ebola in Sierra Leone has arrived for treatment at a US hospital where two American healthcare workers were previously treated, Emory University Hospital said Tuesday.

The identity and condition of the patient were not disclosed by the Atlanta, Georgia hospital.

However, a US State Department spokeswoman said the person is a US citizen.

"The State Department, in consultation with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), has facilitated the medical evacuation of a fourth US citizen who contracted Ebola in Sierra Leone," said spokeswoman Marie Harf.

"Because of privacy concerns we cannot disclose the person's name or provide additional details."

The patient arrived at Emory University Hospital "at approximately 10:25 am," the hospital said in a statement.

"The patient was transported by air ambulance from West Africa," it said, declining to release any details about the patient's condition.

The patient was to be treated in the same isolation unit where Christian missionary healthcare workers Kent Brantly and Nancy Writebol were held.

Those two came down with Ebola while treating people in Liberia. They have recovered from their illnesses and were released last month.

A third US healthcare worker, Rick Sacra, is being treated for Ebola at a Nebraska hospital.

The Ebola outbreak spreading across West Africa has killed 2,288 people, according to the World Health Organization.

On Monday, the WHO said one of its doctors in Sierra Leone had been diagnosed with the Ebola virus and was to be evacuated shortly.

It was not clear if that doctor—whose identity was not released—was the person who arrived at Emory on Tuesday.

Ebola is highly contagious and fatal in about half of cases, causing fever, vomiting, diarrhea, organ failure and internal and external bleeding.

It is transmitted by close contact with an infected person's bodily fluids.