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Friday, August 1, 2014

Ebola crisis: Infected aid worker heads to US



A hospital in Atlanta is preparing to receive a US aid worker infected with the deadly Ebola virus in West Africa.

The unnamed patient will be flown to the US in the next few days for treatment at a high-security ward at Emory University Hospital, medics said.
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The worst outbreak in history has swept through the region, killing 729 people. A spokeswoman for the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said her agency was working on the transfer with the US State Department.  Barbara Reynolds said she was not aware of any Ebola patient ever being treated in the US before.
But in a statement, the Atlanta hospital said it has an isolation unit which is specially equipped to deal with this kind of infection.
On Friday, the head of the World Health Organisation and leaders of West African nations affected by the Ebola outbreak are expected to announce a joint $100m (£59m; 75m euro) response plan.  Sierra Leone’s president has declared a public health emergency over the outbreak after 233 people died there.  Ebola spreads through human contact with a sufferer’s bodily fluids.

Initial flu-like symptoms can lead to external haemorrhaging from areas like eyes and gums, and internal bleeding which can lead to organ failure. It kills up to 90% of those infected.




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