Saturday, 25 October 2014

Two US Ebola nurses free of virus

Two nurses infected with Ebola while caring for a dying patient in Dallas have been declared free of the virus.

One of them, Nina Pham, met President Barack Obama at the White House, hours after being discharged.

The governors of New York and New Jersey have ordered a mandatory 21-day quarantine period for anyone in contact with Ebola victims in West Africa.

The move comes a day after a doctor, Craig Spencer, returned from Guinea and tested positive for Ebola in New York.

Anyone arriving from affected West African countries without having had confirmed contact with Ebola victims will be subject to monitoring by public health officials.

The plans go beyond anything so far announced at a national level by the Obama administration.

People in New York City have expressed concern that Dr Spencer used public transport and restaurants before being diagnosed.

More than 4,800 people have died of Ebola - mainly in Liberia, Guinea and Sierra Leone - since March.

On Friday, it was announced that one million doses of an experimental Ebola vaccine will be produced by the end of 2015.

But it was a day of mixed news in the US, where the first infection in New York was followed by the release from hospital of Ms Pham, 26.

"I feel fortunate and blessed to be standing here today," she said. "I am on my way back to recovery."

Ms Pham thanked supporters for their prayers during her illness, and asked for privacy as she plans her return to Texas and a reunion with her dog, Bentley.

Amber Vinson
Amber Vinson is also to be discharged
Nina Pham met President Obama in the Oval Office
Nina Pham met President Obama in the Oval Office

But first she was flown to Washington, at the request of the White House.

In other developments:

• the World Health Organization said "several hundred thousand" vaccine doses will be produced in the first half of 2015

• it also said vaccines could be offered to health workers in West Africa by December 2014

• dozens of people are being monitored in Mali after the country confirmed its first case of Ebola

• European Union leaders agreed to increase Ebola aid from 600m euros ($758m; £743m) to one billion

Ms Pham had been treated at a specialist hospital in Bethesda, Maryland, since being flown there from Texas Presbyterian Hospital in Dallas last week.

The other nurse, Amber Vinson, has also been declared virus-free, but she will remain in treatment in Atlanta until further notice.

"Tests no longer detect virus in her blood," a Georgia hospital official said.

Thomas Duncan died earlier this month and it is still unclear how the nurses contracted the virus while wearing protective clothing.

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