Ebola-infected doctor arrives in Atlanta for treatment

Medical officials at the Emory University Hospital in Atlanta, Georgia have announced that they are prepared to treat an American humanitarian worker who has contracted the deadly Ebola virus and has returned to the United States to receive treatment.

Doctor Kent Brantly, the first of two American humanitarian workers who became infected with the deadly virus while working in West Africa, landed in Georgia yesterday. Doctor Brantly was transported on a private jet that contained a portable tent that is specially designed for patients with serious contagious illnesses. The second American who has been infected, Nancy Writebol, will be arriving on later flight.

“The reason we are bringing these patients back to our facility is because we feel they deserve to have the highest level of care offered for their treatment,” Dr. Bruce Ribner, who oversees Emory University isolation unit, said at a press conference. “They have become infected through medical care, and we feel that we have the environment and expertise to safely care for these patients and offer them the maximum opportunity for recovery from these infections.”

Both of the American’s were working at a hospital in Liberia as volunteers for Christian charities, Brantly for Samaritan’s Purse, and Writebol for Serving In Mission. They were there to help patients who had been infected with Ebola, a virus that spreads through bodily fluids.

The West African countries of Guinea, Liberia, and Sierra Leone are currently suffering what has been called the largest outbreak of Ebola in history. According to the World Health Organization (WHO), the outbreak has already claimed the lives of over 730 people in West Africa, and has infected many more.

Read more about the story at The New York Times.