An American doctor successfully treated for Ebola last month who was hospitalized again Saturday tested negative for the virus and is being removed from isolation, according to a statement from UMass Memorial Medical Center.
Dr. Richard Sacra, who contracted Ebola in Liberia and was treated at a hospital in Nebraska, was rushed to the hospital Saturday with a high fever and a cough, said Dr. Robert Finberg, the center's chair of medicine. "We do not think he has Ebola," Finberg said. But "on the other hand, there is no reason to take risks."
Sacra was being treated in an isolation unit Sunday out of an abundance of caution, said Patrick Muldoon, the center's director. Samples of his blood were sent to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention headquarters in Atlanta.
During his treatment for Ebola last month, Sacra, 51, was given two transfusions of blood serum from another Ebola survivor, Dr. Kent Brantley, as well as an experimental drug. He was declared virus-free and discharged from Nebraska Medical Center on Sept. 25.
IN-DEPTH
- Former Ebola Patient Dr. Rick Sacra Hospitalized
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