American Healthcare Worker with Ebola Arrives at NIH Clinical Center
An American healthcare worker who tested positive for Ebola virus while volunteering services in an Ebola treatment unit in Sierra Leone has arrived at the NIH Clinical Center for care and treatment. The individual was transferred from Sierra Leone via private charter medevac in isolation and admitted to the NIH Clinical Center at 4:44 a.m. ET. The patient’s condition is still being evaluated. No additional details about the patient are being shared at this time.
NIH Clinical Center
An American healthcare worker who tested positive for Ebola virus while volunteering services in an Ebola treatment unit in Sierra Leone has arrived at the NIH Clinical Center for care and treatment. The individual was transferred from Sierra Leone via private charter medevac in isolation and admitted to the NIH Clinical Center at 4:44 a.m. ET. The patient’s condition is still being evaluated. No additional details about the patient are being shared at this time.
The patient has been admitted to the NIH Clinical Center’s Special Clinical Studies Unit (SCSU) that is specifically designed to provide high-level isolation capabilities and is staffed by infectious diseases and critical care specialists. The unit staff is trained in strict infection control practices optimized to prevent spread of potentially transmissible agents such as Ebola. NIH is taking every precaution to ensure the safety of patients, NIH staff and the public.
This will be the second patient with Ebola virus disease admitted to the NIH Clinical Center. An earlier patient was treated successfully and released free of disease. The NIH Clinical Center also previously admitted two individuals who experienced high-risk exposures to the Ebola virus while working on the Ebola response in West Africa, but who were ultimately found not to be infected.
The NIH Clinical Center is the clinical research hospital for the National Institutes of Health. Through clinical research, clinician-investigators translate laboratory discoveries into better treatments, therapies and interventions to improve the nation's health.
Source: National Institutes of Health (NIH)
