The Rhode Island man infected with Ebola while working in Liberia has been declared free of the disease and is expected to leave Nebraska Medical Center on Wednesday, according to the hospital.
Ashoka Mukpo, 33, who grew up in Providence, is the second patient to be successfully treated for Ebola in the Nebraska hospital's biocontainment unit. Dr. Rick Sacra, a Massachusetts missionary doctor, spent 20 days there last month.
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Mukpo arrived Oct. 6 after spending the previous month as a freelance journalist in Liberia. He had just signed a contract to work as a cameraman for NBC News when he fell ill.
Moments after the hospital announced the news, Mukpo tweeted, 'Just got my results. 3 consecutive days negative. Ebola free and feeling so blessed. I fought and won, with lots of help. Amazing feeling'
'The knowledge that there's no more virus in my blood is a profound relief,' said a second tweet from @unkyoka. 'I'm so lucky. Wish everyone who got sick could feel this.'
A third tweet referred to the two nurses who contracted Ebola from a patient they cared for at Texas Health Presbyterian Hospital in Dallas: 'Still thinking about those nurses. Look forward to the day you two get news like this too . . .'
Tests by the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention confirmed that Mukpo no longer has the virus in his blood, said a statement from the hospital.
'Our staff was confident it would be able to successfully care for another patient,' Dr. Phil Smith, medical director of the biocontainment unit, said in a statement. 'Our years of training on protocol in the unit and gaining familiarity with all the personal protective equipment was certainly an advantage for us.'
Posted by Unknown on Tuesday, October 21, 2014 - Rating: 4.5
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