BOSTON (Apr. 9, 2015)—The Partners In Health clinician recovering from Ebola virus disease is now free of the virus and was discharged earlier today from the National Institutes of Health in Bethesda, Md.
Our colleague, whose name will not be released, was admitted to the NIH on March 13. After two consecutive tests that were negative for Ebola virus, the NIH clinical team determined our colleague is no longer contagious to the community and able to return home. The additional PIH clinicians transported to the United States for monitoring were cleared by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and local health authorities last week and released. None were infected with Ebola virus disease.
"We're cheering here in rural Liberia and in Sierra Leone, and are sure our co-workers in Boston and Haiti and Rwanda and Peru and elsewhere are too," said Dr. Paul Farmer, co-founder and chief strategist for PIH.
We continue to ask the media and public to please respect our colleague's privacy as he transitions out of care. We also underscore that Ebola survivors do not pose any public health risk and are not contagious to the community.
Already, two clinicians who had returned for monitoring are heading back to Sierra Leone to rejoin PIH's efforts supporting the Ministry of Health and Sanitation. PIH remains committed to bolstering the delivery of comprehensive health services in Liberia and Sierra Leone.
The Ebola situation is changing rapidly. In the week ending April 5, Liberia had zero new cases, Sierra Leone had nine new cases, and Guinea had 21 new cases, according to the World Health Organization. Cumulative recorded cases exceed 25,500. More than 10,500 people have died.