Emory University Hospital in Atlanta plans to treat an American aid worker in Africa who has been diagnosed with Ebola, officials at the hospital said Thursday.
Two American aid workers are suffering from Ebola in Liberia. However, the hospital said it could not identify the expected patient due to privacy laws.
The Pentagon said said Friday that a chartered flight carrying the American Ebola patients being evacuated from West Africa will land at Dobbins Air Base in Marietta, Ga. sometime over the coming days, according spokesman, Rear Admiral John Kirby.
While he did not give a specific time of arrival, Kirby said no military personnel would be involved and that the U.S. State Department had requested use of the runway for security purposes.
It would be the first time the disease is brought into the country.
Every precaution is being taken to move the patients safely and securely, to provide critical care en route on a non-commercial aircraft and to maintain strict isolation upon arrival in the United States, according to a statement from the U.S. State Department released Friday. Upon arrival, patients will be taken to medical facilities with appropriate isolation and treatment capabilities.
The evacuations will take place over the coming days, and CDC protocols and equipment will be used to protect the patient and the American public.
The officials say the hospital has a special isolation unit that was built in collaboration with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention that's used to treat people with certain serious infectious diseases.
The unit is physically separate from other areas, and hospital officials say staff are trained and fully prepared to care for the patient.
Hospital officials say they're unsure of when the patient will arrive.
Also on Thursday, sources confirmed to Fox News that a medevac plane with the CDC's aeromedical biological containment system onboard was headed for Liberia. There was no scheduled return time for the medevac plane's return.
The CDC has about two dozen staffers in West Africa to help try to control the outbreak and plans to send more.
A statement from SIM Missionary Friday said Ebola patient Nancy Writebol’s husband, David, will stay close by as plans are made to bring his wife back to the U.S. for treatment. But with her condition, he will only be able to visit his wife through a window or dressed in a haz-mat suit.
No others from SIM who are returning to the U.S. have tested positive for Ebola.
“We are so heartened that Nancy is in stable condition and that plans are underway to bring her back to the U.S.,” said Bruce Johnson, president of SIM USA in the release. “We are grateful for the help and support of the U.S. State Department in this endeavor. As believers in the power of prayer, we covet the prayers of people around the world, not only for Nancy and Kent [Brantly], but also for all those fighting this brutal virus.”
Although nonessential SIM personnel are leaving the country, SIM is sending in another of its doctors to help with the treatment of Ebola patients at its ELWA treatment center in Monrovia. SIM currently has two doctors caring for Writebol and Brantly, and its Liberian staff is still engaged in the region.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
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