Ashoka Mukpo, the freelance camera operator working for NBC, is scheduled to arrive in the U.S. this morning, according to The Associated Press via Yahoo. According to the article, the photojournalist's family said Mukpo will be treated at Nebraska Medical Center's specialized isolation unit. Mupko will be the second patient isolated and treated for the virus at that facility.
Dr. Phil Smith, who oversees the isolation unit, told the AP, "We are ready, willing and able to care for this patient. We consider it our duty to give these American citizens the best possible care we can."
According to AP, the isolation unit is the same unit that successfully treated American aid provider Rick Sacra. Sacra spent three weeks in the unit before being discharged home.
An experimental drug called TKM-Ebola was given to Sacra, AP reported. Sacra also received blood transfusions from another American who had recovered from Ebola. The transfusions may have provided antibodies to Sacra.
According to NDTV, the man known as "the Dallas patient" Thomas Eric Duncan is "fighting for his life."
Dr. Tom Frieden, director of the CDC, addresses the fear health care workers should have and the worsening condition of the Dallas patient in a video by CNN's State of the Union. Frieden is quoted as saying, "We are stopping Ebola in its tracks in Dallas," and "the virus is spreading so fast that it's hard to keep up."
What can you do to protect yourself?
Remember that "Ebola is extremely infectious but not extremely contagious," reported CNN. A small amount of the virus can make you sick, but it is not an air-borne disease. "Humans can be infected by other humans if they come in contact with body fluids from an infected person or contaminated objects from infected persons," CNN stated in the article. "Humans can also be exposed to the virus, for example, by butchering infected animals."
According to the CDC, symptoms of Ebola often include:
- Fever (greater than 101.5°F)
- Severe headache
- Muscle pain
- Weakness
- Diarrhea
- Vomiting
- Abdominal pain
- Unexplained bleeding or bruising
Ebola is reportedly not passed unless someone is exhibiting symptoms, but the CNN article reported that "the virus has been found in semen for up to three months."
