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Tag: kent brantly

  • Nina Pham’s Boyfriend Allegedly Hospitalized and Being Closely Monitored for Ebola

    Nina Pham’s boyfriend is reportedly being monitored very closely, with some reports saying he has been hospitalized and is in isolation.

    Pham, a 26-year-old nurse employed Texas Health Presbyterian Hospital was part of a team that treated Thomas Duncan, a Liberian national who has become known as “patient zero” and who died of Ebola on Oct. 14.

    “A person Khoi described as a friend of Pham’s is also being monitored for the disease,” reported Dallas News, “although he said he didn’t know the friend’s relationship. Others have said the patient being monitored is [Nina] Pham’s boyfriend.”

    Reports claim Pham boyfriend is in isolation after Jeff George, CEO of Alcon in Fort Worth Texas where the boyfriend works, sent an e-mail out to his personnel advising those who may have had contact with the boyfriend to monitor themselves. The email indicates that the boyfriend was checked into a hospital back on Oct. 12.

    “I am writing to make you aware that one of our Fort Worth associates was admitted to Texas Health Presbyterian Hospital. He is being monitored for potential signs and symptoms of the Ebola virus. The associate has not shown any signs of symptoms of the Ebola virus. After consultation with the Texas Department of Health, we are confident that there is no risk for Alcon associates,” wrote George.

    The nurse was transferred to the National Institutes of Health in Maryland for further treatment after receiving an antibody-rich blood transfusion from Dr. Kent Brantly. NBC News cameraman Ashoka Mukpo and aid worker Dr. Rick Sacra have also received transfusions from Brantly.

    The Dallas News reported on Oct. 8 that Pham is confronting “the deadly virus with the prayers of her family and friends — and the blood of an Ebola survivor coursing through her veins.”

    Meanwhile, Pham’s dog, a one-year-old King Charles Spaniel named Bentley, is being held for observation. After the dog of a nurse in Spain was euthanized, Bentley has become a household name as people take to Twitter and voice concerns that the dog may face the same fate.

  • Second Ebola Infected Patient Arrives in Atlanta

    A North Carolina missionary who contracted Ebola while working in Liberia was transported to the United States Tuesday to begin treatment, just days after Dr. Kent Brantly was moved in a similar manner.

    Nancy Writebol, who is affiliated with the North Carolina-based Christian relief groups Samaritan’s Purse and SIM, arrived at Dobbins Air Reserve Base in a private jet converted into an “air ambulance.” Writebol departed from Monrovia, Liberia, riding inside of an Aeromedical Biological Containment System installed inside a modified Gulf Stream jet.

    Writebol was then transported to Emory University Hospital in Atlanta to be quarantined in a special isolation unit constructed at Emory, which was set up in tandem with the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Writebol and Brantly are the first confirmed Ebola patients to be treated on U.S. soil, and both were said to have received an experimental dose of a drug called ZMapp, while still in West Africa.

    Three frozen vials of ZMapp were flown to Liberia last week, but the dose was only enough for one person. Brantly initially refused the medication so it could be administered to Writebol, and opted for a blood transfusion from a 14-year-old patient who survived a bout with Ebola, but his condition continued to deteriorate. The doctor said he felt like he was dying at one point while gasping for air, and was given a dose of ZMapp.

    Within hours, Brantly’s breathing improved, and a rash he developed disappeared. He was able to take a shower on his own the following day, and was seen walking into Emory University Hospital when he arrived in Atlanta. Writebol required a stretcher when she arrived at the hospital.

    The transport of Ebola-infected patients into the country has been controversial, as some have feared it might lead to a domestic outbreak. Though, Emory said in a statement, “Emory University Hospital physicians, nurses and staff are highly trained in the specific and unique protocols and procedures necessary to treat and care for this type of patient. The standard, rigorous infection control procedures used at Emory protect the patient, Emory health care workers and the general public.”

    Here is a clip describing precautions taken while medevacing an Ebola patient:

    While the ZMapp medication has shown promise, Emory doctor Bruce S. Ribner points out that supportive care is likely the key component in combating Ebola. “We depend on the body’s defenses to control the virus. We just have to keep the patient alive long enough in order for the body to control this infection.”

    Image via YouTube

  • Ebola Patient Received Experimental Serum

    On Saturday Dr. Kent Brantly, 33, became the first person with the Ebola virus to ever be transported onto U.S. soil, and new details regarding his treatment have emerged. According to a statement issued by Samaritan’s Purse, the charity organization that deployed Brantly to Liberia, he was given an experimental serum before leaving Africa.

    Three frozen vials of a drug called ZMapp were flown to Liberia last week, but the dose was only enough for one person. Brantly initially refused the medication so it could be administered to missionary Nancy Writebol, who likewise contracted Ebola. Writebol is also affiliated with the North Carolina-based Christian relief groups Samaritan’s Purse and SIM.

    Brantly opted for a blood transfusion from a 14-year-old patient who survived a bout with Ebola, but his condition continued to deteriorate. The doctor said he felt like he was dying at one point while gasping for air, and was given a dose of ZMapp.

    Within hours, Brantly’s breathing improved, and a rash he developed disappeared. He was able to take a shower on his own the following day, and was seen walking into Emory University Hospital when he arrived in Atlanta.

    ZMapp was developed by the San Diego-based biotech firm Mapp Biopharmaceutical Inc. Brantly was told the drug was never administered to a human before, but showed potential in simian trials. ZMapp is a three-mouse monoclonal antibody, meaning that mice were exposed to parts of the Ebola virus, causing antibodies against the disease to be generated. The antibodies were then taken from the blood of the mice to create the medicine, which works by blocking Ebola from entering new cells.

    Here is an interesting documentary concerning the spread of Ebola in Liberia via ingesting bushmeat:

    Samaritan’s Purse said, “We praise God for the news that Kent’s condition is improving. We can confirm that Kent was able to receive a dose of the experimental serum prior to leaving Liberia. Please continue to pray for Kent, the people of Liberia, and all those who are serving there in Jesus’ name.”

    Centers for Disease Control and Prevention chief Tom Frieden commented, “It’s encouraging that he seems to be improving … and we’re hoping that he’ll continue to improve.” Though Frieden added that since Ebola is “so deadly,” it is too early to predict if Brantly will survive.

    The Ebola outbreak in Sierra Leone, Liberia, Guinea and Nigeria is the largest recorded in history, and the disease has a mortality rate of roughly 68 percent. So far, the outbreak has taken over 700 lives, and a vaccination is years away. Yet, the National Institutes of Health is set to begin testing an experimental Ebola vaccine on human subjects in mid-September.

    A representative from Emory said in a statement, “Ebola does not pose a significant risk to the U.S. public.”

    Writebol was likewise given ZMapp treatment in Liberia, and is expected to be moved to Emory within the coming days.

    Image via Wikimedia Commons

  • Ebola Infected Doctor Arrives in Atlanta

    On Saturday Dr. Kent Brantly, 33, became the first person with the Ebola virus to ever be transported onto U.S. soil.

    In a coordinated effort between the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the U.S. State Department, Brantly was flown from Monrovia, Liberia to Atlanta, where a treatment team was ready for him at Emory University Hospital.

    In a case that has blown all Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act laws out of the water, Brantly arrived in a private jet converted into an “air ambulance” at an airfield outside Atlanta at roughly 11:20 a.m. EDT. According to the flight crew, Brantly was “extremely stable” throughout the trip. The doctor was then taken to Emory by ambulance, where footage from a news helicopter recorded two people in biohazard suits slowly walking into the hospital. One was thought to be Brantly.

    Brantly and missionary Nancy Writebol, who likewise contracted Ebola, are both affiliated with the North Carolina-based Christian relief groups Samaritan’s Purse and SIM. Writebol is expected to be moved to Emory within the coming days.

    Here is a clip describing the Aeromedical Biological Containment System installed inside the modified Gulf Stream jet used to transport Dr. Brantly:

    Amber Brantly, the doctor’s wife, said in a statement issued through Samaritan’s Purse, “It was a relief to welcome Kent home today. I spoke with him, and he is glad to be back in the U.S. – I am thankful to God for his safe transport and for giving him the strength to walk into the hospital.”

    The Ebola outbreak in Sierra Leone, Liberia, Guinea and Nigeria is the largest recorded in history, and the disease has a mortality rate of roughly 68 percent. So far, the outbreak has taken over 700 lives, and a vaccination is years away. Yet, the National Institutes of Health is set to begin testing an experimental Ebola vaccine on human subjects in mid-September.

    A representative from Emory said in a statement, “Ebola does not pose a significant risk to the U.S. public.”

    Image via YouTube