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Ebola: Infected American Arrives in U.S. for Treatment

An American healthcare worker infected with Ebola in Sierra Leone is in serious condition at the National Institutes of Health outside Washington.
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An American healthcare worker infected with Ebola in Sierra Leone serious condition at the National Institutes of Health, the NIH said Friday. The unidentified patient is the 11th Ebola case treated in the U.S.

The person was flown back from West Africa in isolation on a chartered flight, the NIH said in a statement Friday. The NIH admitted the patient to its high-level containment facility in Bethesda, Maryland. It's the same unit that treated nurse Nina Pham and that kept watch over a doctor and a nurse who were eventually found to have escaped infection.

"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 our patients, NIH staff, and the public," NIH said in a statement.

"NIH is taking every precaution to ensure the safety of our patients, NIH staff, and the public."

One American who had close contact with the patient will be flown to Atlanta and put into isolation, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said.

"The individual has not shown symptoms of Ebola and has not been diagnosed with Ebola. Upon arrival in Atlanta, the individual will voluntarily self-isolate and be under direct active monitoring for the 21-day incubation period," CDC said.

Ebola has infected more than 24,000 people in West Africa, killing more than 10,000. At least 800 of those infected were health care workers, the World Health Organization said. Of the 10 people treated for Ebola so far in the United States, eight have survived and two have died.

CDC has dozens of staffers working in West Africa to help fight Ebola and is helping track down anyone, including several Americans, who might have been in contact with the unidentified patient.

"Out of an abundance of caution, CDC and the State Department are developing contingency plans for returning those Americans with potential exposure."

"At this time, none of these individuals have tested positive for Ebola," CDC said in a statement.

"These individuals are volunteers in the Ebola response and are currently being monitored in Sierra Leone. Out of an abundance of caution, CDC and the State Department are developing contingency plans for returning those Americans with potential exposure to the U.S. by non-commercial air transport. Those individuals will voluntarily self-isolate and be under direct active monitoring for the 21-day incubation period."

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