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A
third Ebola patient is headed to the special Biocontainment Unit at the
Nebraska Medical Center this weekend, according to news reports
Thursday. The Associated Press identified the patient as Martin Salia, a
surgeon who was infected with the virus while treating victims in
Sierra Leone, one of the hardest-hit areas of West Africa. The patient
is a Sierra Leonean national who is a permanent resident of the United
States and lives in Maryland, AP reported, citing an anonymous source.
He reportedly was working at Kissy United Methodist Hospital in
Freetown, Sierra Leone, when he came down with Ebola symptoms on Nov. 6.
He tested negative for the virus at that time, AP reported. When he was
tested again on Monday, the results came back positive.
The patient
will arrive Saturday at the University of Nebraska facility, the Omaha
World-Herald reported, citing an unidentified person "with knowledge of
the patient's impending arrival." He is in stable condition at an Ebola
treatment center in Freetown, AP reported. The university would not
confirm the reports, saying in a written statement that the staff has
"been in a state of readiness" to treat Ebola patients since August,
when the State Department visited its Biocontainment Unit, the nation's
largest. "As with previous patients we've treated here in recent months,
per State Department regulations, we would only have confirmation when a
plane is en route with a patient aboard," spokesman Taylor Wilson said.
"This is not the case right now. If we have confirmation of a patient
headed to our facility, we will share what information we can with you.
In the meantime, our organization is ready if needed." The
Biocontainment Unithas already successfully treated and released two
others: Dr. Rick Sacra, a missionary delivering babies in Liberia, and
Ashoka Mukpo, an NBC News freelance cameraman who also became infected
while working in Liberia.
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