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| Another American exposed to Ebola is brought to UNMC for quarantine and treatment in Omaha, NE |
An American health worker exposed to the Ebola virus while working in Sierra Leone, Africa arrived in Omaha, NE Sunday and is now being monitored at the University of Nebraska Medical Center (UNMC) in its level-four biohazard containment unit on campus.
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| Safety measures taken 'out of an abundance of caution' in transporting patients exposed to the Ebola virus in West Africa at Epply Airfield in Omaha |
Paramedics were taking no chances in handling the patient so they were wearing full-body protective gear akin to a NASA space suit as they took an Ebola patient, who has not been identified, by ambulance from a plane that arrived at Eppley Airfield around 1:45 p.m. to the hospital, which has a specialized biocontainment unit.
"I can't comment on if the patient does or doesn't have any kind of symptoms at this point, but I can say the crew inside the biocontainment unit, the crew that received the patient at the airport, is treating this patient as if he or she does have the virus, just out of an abundance of caution," said UNMC spokesman Taylor Wilson.
“This patient has been exposed to the virus, but is not ill and is not contagious,” said Dr. Phil Smith, medical director of the level-4 biocontainment unit. “However, we will be taking all appropriate precautions. This patient will be under observation in the same room used for treatment of the first three patients and will be carefully monitored to see if Ebola disease develops.”
