Nebraska Medical Center officials say an American health care worker being monitored for Ebola has not developed the virus.NMC updated the patient's condition Monday. The health care worker arrived at Nebraska Medical Center's biocontainment unit on January 4th after a "high-risk exposure" to Ebola in Sierra Leone. At that time, the patient had not tested positive for Ebola.
NMC spokesman Taylor Wilson says the patient will remain in the biocontainment unit until the end of a 21 day quarantine. The patient is being tested regularly for the virus, and biocontainment unit doctors are taking the same precautions as they did when treating three patients who had Ebola.
No additional information about the health care worker, including whether the patient is male or female, will be released.
Last fall, Nebraska Medical Center's biocontainment unit treated three patients who contracted Ebola in west Africa. Two of those patients, Dr. Rick Sacra and NBC cameraman Ashoka Mukpo, survived. Dr. Martin Salia died about two days after arriving in Omaha for treatment. Salia was severely ill when he arrived.