U. S. Ebola patient’s condition worsens

Another person put in biocontainment unit

The condition of an American health care worker being treated for Ebola has deteriorated to critical, the National Institutes of Health said Monday.

The patient, who has not been identified, tested positive for Ebola virus while volunteering with Partners in Health at an Ebola treatment unit in Sierra Leone. The patient was airlifted by private charter medevac Friday to the the NIH Clinical Cen- ter in Bethesda, Md. The patient is the 11th person with Ebola to be treated in the USA.

On Sunday, 10 health care workers who came in contact with the patient in Sierra Leone were flown to the USA. All were staying near hospitals with highlevel biocontainment units capable of treating Ebola.

On Monday, one of these health workers was moved into the biocontainment unit at Nebraska Medical Center in Omaha because of a change in symptoms, officials say. Hospital staff did not reveal what sort of symptoms the person experienced. Early symptoms of Ebola — such as a fever, nausea or diarrhea — can be caused by many unrelated condi- tions, from flu to food poisoning.

“At this point, this person has not tested positive for the Ebola virus,” says Phil Smith, medical director of the biocontainment unit at the Nebraska Medical Center. “Because of a change in symptoms, we decided the most prudent course of action was to bring the individual to the biocontainment unit, where we can better monitor symptoms and safely perform testing. However, some of the symptoms which prompted the move to the biocontainment unit have resolved.”

The other nine evacuated health workers had no symptoms as of Sunday, according to Partners in Health, a Boston- based aid organization.