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Ebola crisis: Infected US aid workers to be evacuated Ebola crisis: Infected doctor Kent Brantly lands in US
(about 20 hours later)
Efforts are under way to evacuate two American aid workers infected with the deadly Ebola virus from Liberia, their organisation has said. A US doctor infected with the deadly Ebola virus in Liberia has arrived in the US for treatment at a specialised unit in Atlanta, Georgia.
Dr Kent Brantly and Nancy Writebol are in a serious condition, Samaritan's Purse said. Dr Kent Brantly arrived in a specially equipped private plane at a military base before being whisked away to Emory University Hospital.
US health officials have confirmed an Atlanta hospital is preparing to admit at least one of the two. Fellow infected US aid worker Nancy Writebol is expected to follow shortly.
The worst outbreak of Ebola in history has swept through four countries in West Africa, killing 729 people. Ebola has claimed 728 lives in Guinea, Liberia and Sierra Leone this year, killing up to 90% of sufferers.
The patients will be flown to the US in the next few days for treatment at a high-security ward at Emory University Hospital, officials said. The virus spreads through human contact with a sufferer's bodily fluids.
A spokeswoman for the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) said her agency was working on the transfer with the US State Department. Initial flu-like symptoms can lead to external haemorrhaging from areas like eyes and gums, and internal bleeding which can lead to organ failure.
Barbara Reynolds said she was not aware of any Ebola patient ever being treated in the US before. The US health authorities have warned against travelling to the African states affected and 50 extra American specialists are being sent to affected areas.
But in a statement, the Atlanta hospital said it has an isolation unit which is specially equipped to deal with this kind of infection. Gloved hands
US media have reported a second Ebola patient will be flown to the United States, but it is unclear if he or she will be at the same hospital. The plane carrying Dr Brantly was outfitted with a special portable tent designed for transporting patients with highly infectious diseases.
Ebola spreads through human contact with a sufferer's bodily fluids. After it touched down at Dobbins Air Reserve Base, the patient was collected by an ambulance which drove him to Emory, 15 miles (24km) away.
Initial flu-like symptoms can lead to external haemorrhaging from areas like eyes and gums, and internal bleeding which can lead to organ failure. It kills up to 90% of those infected. At the hospital a person in protective clothing could be seen climbing down from the back of the ambulance and a second person in protective clothing appeared to take his gloved hands and guide him toward a building, the Associated Press report.
The US health authorities have warned against travelling to Guinea, Liberia and Sierra Leone as they strive to tackle the Ebola outbreak, and 50 extra American specialists are being sent to affected areas. US officials say they are confident the patients can be treated without putting the public in any danger.
In a statement, aid group Samaritan's Purse said the two Americans remained in Liberia on Friday, but "medical evacuation efforts are underway and should be completed by early next week". The specialised unit was opened 12 years ago to care for federal health workers exposed to some of the world's most dangerous germs.
The group also said it was evacuating 60 non-essential staff who were healthy back to the United States. While it has an isolation unit, health experts say it is not needed for treating a patient with Ebola, as the virus does not spread through the air.
The US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention is unaware of any Ebola patient ever being treated in the US before.
Dr Brantly's employer, the aid group Samaritan's Purse, said in a statement that it was evacuating 60 non-essential staff who were healthy back to the US.
An earlier statement said that Dr Brantly had been offered experimental serum - using blood from a child whose life he saved - but he had insisted that Ms Writebol should receive it instead.An earlier statement said that Dr Brantly had been offered experimental serum - using blood from a child whose life he saved - but he had insisted that Ms Writebol should receive it instead.
Amber Brantly, his wife, said in a statement she remains "hopeful and believing that Kent will be healed from this dreadful disease". Amber Brantly, his wife, said in a statement she remained "hopeful and believing that Kent" would be "healed from this dreadful disease".
Meanwhile, the National Institutes of Health in the US has said it will begin testing a possible vaccine in September. "There is a little bit of worry," Jenny Kendrix, 46, told Reuters news agency when asked about having the Ebola virus patient brought to the same hospital where her husband was being treated for cancer. "There is worry about it getting out."
But Ernie Surunis, 52, at the hospital for a pharmacy conference, said he was not bothered at all.
"This is a good hospital," he said. "I'm glad [the patients] are coming. We can't leave them [in Africa] to die. They went over to help other people."
The National Institutes of Health in the US has said it will begin testing a possible Ebola vaccine in September.
Ebola since 1976Ebola since 1976
Ebola virus disease (EVD)Ebola virus disease (EVD)