Third Ebola patient treated at Emory expects to be released 'very soon'

Aug. 1, 2014: A general view of Emory University Hospital in Atlanta, Georgia. (REUTERS)

The third patient being treated for Ebola at Emory University Hospital said Wednesday that he is recovering from the disease and is expecting to be discharged “very soon.”

The patient has elected to remain anonymous, and is only being identified as a doctor who was working with the World Health Organization (WHO) in Seirra Leone. The patient arrived at Emory on Sept. 9 and has been hospitalized in an isolation unit set up to treat patients with infectious diseases.

“Given the national focus on Ebola, particularly with the diagnosis in two health care workers, I want to share the news that I am recovering from this disease, and that I anticipate beign discharged very soon, free from the Ebola virus and able to return safely to my family and to my community,” the patient’s statement said.

“As a result of the virus, my condition worsened and I became critically ill soon after I arrived at Emory. Through rigorous medical treatment, skillfull nursing, and the full support of a healthcare team, I am well on the way to a full recovery,” the statement said.

“I want the public to know that although Ebola is a serious, complex disease, it is possible to recover and return to a healthy life.”

Two nurses at Texas Health Presbyterian Hospital in Dallas tested positive for the virus after treating Liberian national Thomas Eric Duncan, the first patient to be diagnosed with Ebola in the United States. Duncan died last Wednesday.

Nurses Amber Vinson and Nina Pham were working to treat Duncan during his hospitalization. Emory University Hospital said it is expecting Vinson to be transferred to its facility later Wednesday.

“The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and Texas Health Resources specifically requested that the patient be transferred to Emory Healthcare,” the hospital said in a statement.

“The patient will be treated in the same isolation unit at Emory University Hospital in which three patients have already been treated. The first two patients were discharged in late August and a third patient is still being treated,” the statement said.

Ebola has killed more than 4,000 in West Africa, while WHO warns that the region could face up to 10,000 new Ebola cases per with within two months.