An American doctor who was exposed to Ebola while providing medical assistance to patients in the Democratic Republic of Congo in Central Africa has been brought to the United States and taken to a secure area at the Nebraska Medical Center.
Unnamed Patient Does Not Exhibit Symptoms
The doctor, who was not identified for privacy reason, does not exhibit symptoms of the hemorrhagic virus.
Ebola can be transmitted through direct contact and can incubate for three weeks before the infected person starts to show symptoms of the infection.
The Nebraska Medical Center has treated Ebola patients in previous outbreaks. The physician was transported to the medical center on Saturday afternoon, where he will be observed in a secure area for up to two weeks.
He will be transferred to a special biocontainment once symptoms develop.
Ted Cieslak, an infectious disease specialist at the medical center, said that the patient may have been exposed to the virus but is not sick and contagious.
"Should any symptoms develop, the Nebraska Medicine/UNMC team is among the most qualified in the world to deal with them," Cieslak said.
Officials said the patient was transported by private plane and car. A spokesperson for the State Department, which arranged the doctor's travel, said the doctor was moved safely and securely.
Doctors will work with public health officials to monitor the patient and secure the area so other patients and members of the public will not be exposed to the deadly virus.
Second Largest Ebola Outbreak On Record
The DRC is facing the second largest outbreak on record that has so far killed more than 350. The World Health Organization, however, said that the outbreak does not pose a major international threat.
International aid organizations warn that the worsening political situation in the country marked by protests and attacks on aid workers may hinder efforts to contain the deadly outbreak.
