This article is from the source 'washpo' and was first published or seen on . It last changed over 40 days ago and won't be checked again for changes.

You can find the current article at its original source at http://www.washingtonpost.com/national/health-science/nih-expected-to-admit-patient-exposed-to-ebola-virus/2014/09/27/0deee7a4-4673-11e4-b437-1a7368204804_story.html?wprss=rss_homepage

The article has changed 3 times. There is an RSS feed of changes available.

Version 0 Version 1
NIH expected to admit patient exposed to Ebola virus NIH expected to admit patient exposed to Ebola virus
(35 minutes later)
An American doctor who was exposed to the Ebola virus is expected to be admitted to the National Institutes of Health in Bethesda in the coming days, the research agency said in a statement Saturday afternoon. An American physician who was exposed to the Ebola virus is expected to be admitted to the National Institutes of Health in Bethesda in the coming days, the research agency said in a statement Saturday afternoon.
The patient, who was volunteering in a Sierra Leone Ebola treatment unit, will be admitted for observation and to enroll in a clinical study at a center “specifically designed to provide high-level isolation capabilities.” The action was being taken “out of an adundance of caution,” the NIH said, adding that it “is taking every precaution to ensure the safety of our patients, NIH staff, and the public.” The patient, who was volunteering in an Ebola treatment unit in Sierra Leone, will be admitted for observation and to enroll in a clinical study at a center “specifically designed to provide high-level isolation capabilities.” The action was being taken “out of an abundance of caution,” the NIH said, adding that it “is taking every precaution to ensure the safety of our patients, NIH staff, and the public.”
It stressed that “this situation is of minimal risk to NIH staff and the public.”It stressed that “this situation is of minimal risk to NIH staff and the public.”
It did not release the patient’s name or any more information about his or her condition. The NIH did not release the patient’s name or any more information about his or her condition.
Just because someone is exposed to the deadly virus, it “doesn’t necessarily mean they are infected,” said Anthony S. Fauci, the director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases at NIH.
The spread of the virus is the largest Ebola outbreak in history and the first such outbreak in West Africa, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. The risk of an outbreak in the United States is “very low,” the CDC said.
As of Friday, 3,083 deaths in Guinea, Liberia and Sierra Leone have been attributed to the virus, according to the World Health Organization.
The patient to be admitted to NIH is one of a few to be taken to hospitals in the United States. Earlier this week, Richard Sacra, a missionary doctor who was working in Liberia, was released from the Nebraska Medical Center after contracting the virus.
Two other Americans have been discharged after they were successfully treated in the United States for Ebola, including another doctor, Kent Brantly, who later donated a unit of blood, or convalescent serum, to Sacra.
Abby Phillip contributed to this report.