A doctor from Sierra Leone recently diagnosed with the deadly Ebola virus is about to be flown to the United States to be treated, a Reuters report published on Friday, November 14, mentions.
Forty-four-year-old Dr. Martin Salia is a citizen of Sierra Leone but with a permanent U.S. residence in Maryland. He's currently working in Kissy United Methodist Hospital in Freetown, capital of Sierra Leone, when he was diagnosed with Ebola after he tested negative of the virus on November 6.
Although the hospital has yet to confirm it, he is said to be admitted immediately to Nebraska Medical Center, who treated other Ebola patients, as soon as he arrives. The doctor himself is paying all the expenses related to his evacuation, while his wife has already requested the state department to know the exact condition of her husband and confirm whether he's capable enough to travel.
Reports are unclear whether the doctor has worked with Ebola patients personally, though he is also said to work in other health care facilities around Freetown.
As soon as he was officially diagnosed with the virus, the 60-bed hospital was immediately locked down while the other hospital staff are currently under quarantine for 21 days. Patients who have caught on the news reportedly fled the hospital. Meanwhile, Salia is in isolation and is reported to be stable.
The last known American patient to be treated in the United States was Dr. Craig Spencer. Before traveling to New York, he worked for months with the Doctors without Border in Guinea, where he also acquired the infection. He's finally released from Bellevue Hospital, where he spent a couple of weeks, on Tuesday, November 11.
The Ebola outbreak, one of the deadliest in history, has already killed more than 5,000 people. While Guinea has already lifted its ban and, along with Liberia, shows decline, Sierra Leone remains critical, with as many as 400 new cases reported last week.