Second Ebola patient dies in the US

A surgeon who contracted Ebola working in Sierra Leone became the second patient to die of the virus in the U.S., less than two days after his arrival for treatment.

Martin Salia was in critical condition when admitted on Saturday to the Nebraska Medical Center’s biocontainment unit in Omaha after a medical evacuation from Freetown, Sierra Leone.

He was the tenth Ebola patient to be treated in the U.S. and the second to die, after Thomas Eric Duncan, a Liberian man passed away at a Dallas hospital on 8 October.

Salia arrived at the hospital in extremely critical condition. He was 44 years old and had advanced symptoms of the virus, including kidney and respiratory failure. His blood pressure was severely low, and he was unresponsive.  

Salia was placed on continuous dialysis, a ventilator and several medications. He also received a dose of blood plasma from an Ebola survivor, as well as ZMapp, an experimental drug, the Nebraska doctors said.

His case highlights the importance of early treatment. At least two other Ebola patients also were transported to the U.S from West Africa more than 10 days after they developed symptoms, but they survived, though each received a dose of ZMapp while still in West Africa