US Ebola Survivor Readmitted to Hospital and Put in Isolation

Forum 9 years ago

US Ebola Survivor Readmitted to Hospital and Put in Isolation

The third US patient, Dr. Rick Sacra, to be treated for Ebola on American soil has been isolated again in hospital after suffering a persistent cough and fever.

DailyMail reports that Dr Rick Sacra, 51, who contracted the deadly virus while working in Liberia was readmitted to UMass Memorial Medical Center in Worcester, Massachusetts, two weeks after he was cleared. He was treated at the University of Nebraska Medical Center for the infection last month and was released.

Doctors are said to be performing tests on him to make sure Ebola has not returned, however they claim he has not relapsed – also stressing that the public should not be concerned.
Medical Director Dr Phil Smith told WCVB:
‘Even though the likelihood of Dr. Sacra having a relapse of Ebola is extremely low, doctors will run tests to be 100 percent sure. Because of his recent battle with the Ebola virus, his immune system is compromised. The symptoms he has are indicative of a respiratory illness and are not those of someone suffering from Ebola,’ he added.

At the end of September, following his release from hospital, Dr Sacra had told reporters he wanted to return to the disease-ravaged areas to help fight the outbreak.
‘The odds of my ending up back there are pretty high. I don’t have any specific plans, but that’s where my heart is. ‘It’s heartbreaking for me to see Liberians suffering from Ebola and other diseases right now.’

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The world is currently experiencing its worst outbreak of Ebola in history, with the disease killing nearly 3,000 people in West Africa during the past six months.