American doctor exposed to Ebola to be treated at National Institutes of Health

US health facility to admit physician exposed to virus in Sierra Leone to special isolation unit in hospital near Washington DC

Healthcare workers spray disinfectant to prevent the spread of the Ebola virus in Kenema, Sierra Leone Photograph: Tanya Bindra/AP

Associated Press in Washington

Sunday 28 September 2014

The National Institutes of Health (NIH) is preparing to care for an American doctor who was exposed to the Ebola virus while volunteering in Sierra Leone.

Out of what the agency called “an abundance of caution”, the physician is expected to be admitted to the special isolation unit at the NIH’s hospital near the nation’s capital as early as Sunday, for observation.

NIH infectious disease chief Dr Anthony Fauci would not discuss details about the patient but said that in general, exposure to Ebola did not necessarily mean someone would become sick.

“When someone is exposed, you want to put them into the best possible situation so if something happens you can take care of them,” Fauci said.

An agency statement added: “NIH is taking every precaution to ensure the safety of our patients, NIH staff and the public.”

Four other American aid workers who were infected with Ebola while volunteering in the west African outbreak have been treated in the US, at hospitals in Georgia and Nebraska. One remains hospitalised while the others have recovered.