An American physician who may have been exposed to Ebola while treating patients in the Democratic Republic of Congo returned to the U.S. on Saturday.
Politico reported Saturday that the unidentified doctor arrived Saturday and was taken to a secure area at the University of Nebraska’s medical center in Omaha.
The individual has not developed any symptoms and will be monitored closely, according to a statement released by Nebraska Medicine, a healthcare network serving Omaha and the surrounding area.
“This person may have been exposed to the virus but is not ill and is not contagious,” said Ted Cieslak, a doctor who is the infectious diseases specialist with Nebraska Medicine and an associate professor of epidemiology in the University of Nebraska Medical Center College of Public Health. “Should any symptoms develop, the Nebraska Medicine/UNMC team is among the most qualified in the world to deal with them.”
Nebraska Medicine said the individual, who will be monitored for up to two weeks, was transported by private plane and automobile through the coordination of federal, state, and county public health officials.
The Ebola outbreak led to more than 11,000 deaths in West Africa between 2014 and 2016, predominantly in Guinea, Liberia, and Sierra Leone. Ebola remains a deadly presence in Africa, with a recent outbreak in Congo. Nebraska Medicine said it treated three patients with Ebola in 2014 and a few other people in 2015, who were monitored after being exposed to the infectious disease but never developed symptoms.
