The deadly virus Ebola continues to wreak havoc mostly in West Africa, although many news reports share some progress. For example, Liberia is showing signs of slowing down while Senegal and Nigeria have already been declared Ebola free.
In the United States, Craig Spencer, the New York doctor diagnosed with Ebola on October 24, is now stable after his condition turned for the worse following some gastrointestinal problems. He is the only confirmed case that remains to be in treatment. He is in isolation at Bellevue Hospital.
The thirty-three-year-old doctor came from Guinea where he worked with Doctors without Borders. Although he showed no symptom upon his trip to Europe and arrival to New York, he developed fever and fatigue. After reporting his symptoms to the organization, he went to the hospital to seek immediate care.
Nevertheless, his activities prior to his admission raised concerns and alarm as to the number of people he may have into contact. He has already received a plasma transfusion from Nancy Writebol, one of the earliest American survivors of the disease, and an experimental drug.
Meanwhile, the first Texas nurse to contract the virus Nina Pham has finally been reunited with her dog Bentley, a King Charles Spaniel. Pham acquired the virus after she worked on index patient Eric Thomas Duncan, who later died in Texas Health Presbyterian Hospital. She was diagnosed on October 10 then sent to National Institutes for Health Clinical Center in Bethesda, Maryland, for further treatment. She received her plasma from Kent Brantly. After about 14 days of confinement, she was declared virus free and was subsequently released. Her dog, who she called her best friend, remained quarantined for three weeks. On Saturday, November 1, both finally reunited. As published in Reuters on the same day, Pham, while in confinement, felt concerned and frightened over her beloved dog as she didn't know if she had passed the virus to him or what happened to him.
