Ebola infected nurse Nina Pham was released from the National Institute of Health hospital today after being cured of Ebola. Great news not only for Pham, but for those of you with Ebolanoia as well.
Pham contracted the virus while taking care of Eric Duncan, the Liberian who passed away from the virus in a Dallas hospital earlier this month.
According to The Guardian:
Dr Anthony Fauci, infectious disease chief at the NIH, gave Pham a hug and told reporters that five consecutive tests showed no virus left in her blood.“She is cured of Ebola, let’s get that clear,” Fauci said.Pham’s release comes a day after a doctor in New York City who had been treating Ebola patients in west Africa was diagnosed with the virus. Dr Craig Spencer is being treated in isolation at Bellevue Hospital Center in Manhattan.The 26-year-old Pham arrived last week at the NIH Clinical Center in Bethesda, Maryland. She had been flown there from Texas Presbyterian Hospital in Dallas, where she became infected while treating Thomas Eric Duncan, who died of the virus 8 October.A second Dallas nurse who became infected after treating Duncan has also been pronounced free of the virus, family members said this week.Amber Vinson, who flew to Ohio and back before she was diagnosed, is being treated at Emory University Hospital in Atlanta, Georgia.
Bentley, Pham’s dog has also tested negative for Ebola, but will remain in quarantine until the 21 days have lapsed:
The city of Dallas said on Wednesday that one-year-old Bentley will be tested again before his 21-day quarantine period ends 1 November.Bentley was quarantined after his owner, Nina Pham, was diagnosed with Ebola. She was the first of two Texas nurses diagnosed after treating an Ebola patient at a Dallas hospital.Bentley is being cared for by the City of Dallas Animal Services at a decommissioned naval air base.
After being released from the hospital, Pham met with President Obama at the White House who said, “Let’s give a hug for the cameras,” according to Time.
After a patient was diagnosed with Ebola in New York City on Thursday, the hug was a triumphant moment amid continued fear over the potential for Ebola to spread in the U.S. White House Press Secretary Josh Earnest told journalists at press briefing Friday that Pham’s recovery served as “a pretty apt reminder that we do have the best medical infrastructure in the world.”
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