U.S. - Emory University Hospital special isolation unit treats two Americans infected with Ebola virus in Liberia - both discharged

[Emily]

Re: U.S. - Emory University Hospital will treat two patients with Ebola virus who are being transported by air ambulance from Africa

Re: U.S. - Emory University Hospital will treat two patients with Ebola virus who are being transported by air ambulance from Africa

Agree that media use of terms like "top secret" is not helpful or even accurate. This is an "experimental" treatment, though since a private company is involved, there might be some trade secrets involved. But the medicine itself and the basic technology is no secret.

There are new details revealed in the article about how and when the treatments were administered:

Brantly began to deteriorate and developed labored breathing. He told his doctors he thought he was dying, according to a source with firsthand knowledge of the situation.

Knowing his dose was still frozen, Brantly asked if he could have Writebol's now-thawed medication. It was brought to his room and administered through an IV. Within an hour of receiving the medication, Brantly's condition dramatically improved. He began breathing easier; the rash over his trunk faded away. One of his doctors described the events as "miraculous."

By the next morning, Brantly was able to take a shower on his own before getting on a specially designed Gulfstream air ambulance jet to be evacuated to the United States.

Writebol also received a vial of the medication. Her response was not as remarkable, according to sources familiar with the treatment. However, doctors on Sunday administered Writebol a second dose of the medication, which resulted in significant improvement.

The older technology serum that Dr. Brantley received is not mentioned in that article, but his charity says he did receive it here:

http://www.samaritanspurse.org/article/samaritans-purse-doctor-serving-in-liberia-west-africa-tests-positive-for-ebola/

So both had 2 antibody treatments of some sort before improvement was noted, with the older treatment possibly having side effects and the newer treatments being much easier to tolerate in this tiny sample of human infections.

 

[Pathfinder]

Re: U.S. - Emory University Hospital will treat two patients with Ebola virus who are being transported by air ambulance from Africa

Re: U.S. - Emory University Hospital will treat two patients with Ebola virus who are being transported by air ambulance from Africa

Plane Leaves Liberia With 2nd American With Ebola

MONROVIA, Liberia ? Aug 4, 2014, 9:33 PM ET

A special plane transporting the second American infected with Ebola has left Liberia's capital en route to Atlanta.

An Associated Press reporter saw the four-vehicle convoy that arrived at Monrovia's airport early Tuesday. The chartered plane took off at 1:12 a.m. local time.
...
Writebol's son, Jeremy, said his mother "is still struggling" but that "there seems to be improvement."
...
http://abcnews.go.com/International/wireStory/plane-lands-liberia-2nd-american-ebola-24834605

 

[Pathfinder]

Re: U.S. - Emory University Hospital will treat two patients with Ebola virus who are being transported by air ambulance from Africa

Re: U.S. - Emory University Hospital will treat two patients with Ebola virus who are being transported by air ambulance from Africa

Doctors: Ebola 'relapse' is possible

Posted: Aug 04, 2014 8:13 PM CDT Updated: Aug 04, 2014 8:13 PM CDT
By Jaclyn Schultz, Reporter

ATLANTA, Ga. - Doctors at Emory University Hospital tell FOX 5 when a patient is improving with Ebola, there?s always a chance of something called relapse.

Doctors say despite his family?s reports of progress, it?s too early to tell if Dr. Kent Brantly could get well.

Dr. Aneesh Mehta of Emory University Hospital wouldn?t disclose what treatment Brantley has received, but FOX News confirms through the National Institutes of Health (NIH) he is receiving an experimental treatment called Monoclonal Antibody.

?One of the primary actions is neutralizing the virus,? said Mehta. ?So it cannot infect other cells.? The immune system can then tackle the virus and develop immunity.
...
http://www.myfoxtwincities.com/story/26195498/doctors-ebola-relapse-is-possible

 

[Pathfinder]

Re: U.S. - Emory University Hospital will treat two patients with Ebola virus who are being transported by air ambulance from Africa

Re: U.S. - Emory University Hospital will treat two patients with Ebola virus who are being transported by air ambulance from Africa

...
Dr. Brantly turned down the offer of a dose of an experimental serum on Wednesday and asked that it be given to Writebol.

?An experimental serum arrived in the country, but there was only enough for one person. Dr. Brantly asked that it be given to Nancy Writebol,? Graham said. ?However, Dr. Brantly received a unit of blood from a 14-year-old boy who had survived Ebola because of Dr. Brantly?s care. The young boy and his family wanted to be able to help the doctor that saved his life.
...
http://www.samaritanspurse.org/artic...ive-for-ebola/ <!-- / message --><!-- sig -->
__________________

Doctor with Ebola Safely Back in U.S.
August 4, 2014
...
Both Dr. Brantly and Writebol received a dose of an experimental serum while still in Liberia. Dr. Brantly also received a unit of blood from a 14-year-old boy who had survived Ebola under his care.
...
http://www.samaritanspurse.org/arti...liberia-west-africa-tests-positive-for-ebola/

 

[Pathfinder]

Re: U.S. - Emory University Hospital will treat two patients with Ebola virus who are being transported by air ambulance from Africa

Re: U.S. - Emory University Hospital will treat two patients with Ebola virus who are being transported by air ambulance from Africa

Second Ebola patient arrives in Georgia for treatment

By Rich McKay
ATLANTA Tue Aug 5, 2014 12:17pm EDT

(Reuters) - A plane carrying a second American aid worker infected with Ebola in West Africa arrived on Tuesday at an air base outside of Atlanta, the city where she will be hospitalized as doctors try to save her and a colleague from the deadly virus.

Missionary Nancy Writebol, 59, left Liberia on Monday in a medical aircraft that made a brief stop Tuesday morning to refuel at Bangor International Airport in Maine, television station WCSH of Portland, Maine, reported.

The plane arrived at Dobbins Air Reserve Base in Georgia at about 11:30 a.m. EDT(1530 GMT), local television footage showed.

Writebol will be treated by infectious disease specialists at Emory University Hospital in Atlanta, according to Christian missionary group SIM USA. She will be in the same isolation ward as Kent Brantly, 33, an Ebola-infected American doctor who arrived on Saturday.
...

http://www.reuters.com/article/2014/08/05/us-health-ebola-usa-idUSKBN0G307Y20140805

 

[Pathfinder]

Re: U.S. - Emory University Hospital special isolation unit treats two Americans infected with Ebola virus in Liberia

Re: U.S. - Emory University Hospital special isolation unit treats two Americans infected with Ebola virus in Liberia

Tuesday, August 5, 2014

Second Ebola patient has arrived safely at Emory University Hospital

As anticipated, a second American patient with Ebola virus has been transferred from an overseas location to a special isolation facility in Emory University Hospital for treatment. After ambulance transfer from Dobbins Air Reserve Base in Marietta, Georgia, the patient arrived at Emory University Hospital on Tuesday, Aug. 5 at approximately 1:10 p.m. ET.

This special isolation unit was previously developed to treat patients who are exposed to certain serious infectious diseases. It is physically separate from other patient areas and has unique equipment and infrastructure that provide an extraordinarily high level of clinical isolation.

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. As the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention says, Ebola does not pose a significant risk to the U.S. public.
...
http://news.emory.edu/stories/2014/07/euh_ebola_patient/campus.html

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Video: Q&A from Emory Healthcare physicians on Ebola

Aug. 6, 2014

Physicians at Emory University Hospital recently spoke at a press briefing about Ebola patients being treated in a special isolation facility. Watch highlights of their remarks.

http://news.emory.edu/stories/2014/08/video_ebola_press_conference_080114/index.html

 

[Pathfinder]

Re: U.S. - Emory University Hospital special isolation unit treats two Americans infected with Ebola virus in Liberia

Re: U.S. - Emory University Hospital special isolation unit treats two Americans infected with Ebola virus in Liberia

Dr. Kent Brantly Continues to Recover

August 15, 2014
United States

In a statement released by Samaritan's Purse, the doctor being treated for Ebola says he is regaining strength

As my treatment continues in the isolation unit at Emory University Hospital, I am recovering in every way. I thank God for the healthcare team here who is giving me compassionate, world-class care. I am more grateful every day to the Lord for sparing my life and continuing to heal my body. There are still a few hurdles to clear before I can be discharged, but I hold on to he hope of a sweet reunion with my wife, children and family in the near future.
...
http://www.samaritanspurse.org/article/dr-kent-brantly-statement/

 

[Pathfinder]

Re: U.S. - Emory University Hospital special isolation unit treats two Americans infected with Ebola virus in Liberia

Re: U.S. - Emory University Hospital special isolation unit treats two Americans infected with Ebola virus in Liberia

CBS News/August 20, 2014, 9:01 PM

New theory on how Americans were infected with Ebola in Liberia?

... CBS News correspondent Dr. Jon LaPook learned today one possibility that's strongly being considered is that two Americans were actually infected outside the Ebola ward, at dinner or some other setting where they would not have been expected to be wearing the protective equipment.

Nancy Writebol and Dr. Kent Brantley apparently came in contact with a Liberian health care worker who was sick...

http://www.cbsnews.com/news/liberia-makes-drastic-move-to-contain-ebola-virus/

 

[Pathfinder]

Re: U.S. - Emory University Hospital special isolation unit treats two Americans infected with Ebola virus in Liberia

Re: U.S. - Emory University Hospital special isolation unit treats two Americans infected with Ebola virus in Liberia

American Ebola patient to be released after clean blood tests

By Ben Brumfield and Jacque Wilson, CNN
updated 7:33 AM EDT, Thu August 21, 2014

(CNN) -- Dr. Kent Brantly, who contracted the deadly Ebola virus in West Africa while helping fight its largest outbreak in recorded history, will be released from Atlanta's Emory University Hospital on Thursday, spokesman Vince Dollard said.

His blood tests have come back negative for the virus.

The hospital will hold a news conference at 11 a.m. ET, where Brantly will give a statement before leaving the hospital.

Emory will also have information on fellow missionary Nancy Writebol. Her husband recently said that she is regaining strength.
...
http://www.cnn.com/2014/08/21/health/ebola-patient-release/index.html

 

[Treyfish]

Watch Live: Ebola Patient Dr. Kent Brantly Leaves Hospital

Watch Live: Ebola Patient Dr. Kent Brantly Leaves Hospital

Watch Live: <s>#</s>Ebola Patient Dr. Kent Brantly Leaves Hospital :tiphat::tiphat:http://www.nbcnews.com/storyline/ebola-virus-outbreak/watch-live-ebola-patient-dr-kent-brantly-leaves-hospital-n185846 ?

 

[Pathfinder]

Re: U.S. - Emory University Hospital special isolation unit treats two Americans infected with Ebola virus in Liberia

Re: U.S. - Emory University Hospital special isolation unit treats two Americans infected with Ebola virus in Liberia

Thursday, August 21, 2014
Two Ebola virus-infected patients discharged from Emory University Hospital

Bruce Ribner, MD, director of Emory?s Infectious Disease Unit, at a press conference at Emory University on Aug. 21, 2014.

Emory University Hospital confirms that Nancy Writebol was discharged from the hospital on Tuesday, Aug. 19, 2014. Writebol is one of two patients who have been treated for Ebola virus infection at Emory University Hospital?s Infectious Disease Unit. The second patient, Kent Brantly, MD, is being discharged today, Thursday, Aug. 21, 2014.

?After a rigorous and successful course of treatment and testing, the Emory Healthcare team has determined that both patients have recovered from the Ebola virus and can return to their families and community without concern for spreading this infection to others,? says Bruce Ribner, MD, director of Emory?s Infectious Disease Unit.

Criteria for the patients? discharges were based on blood and urine diagnostic tests and standard infectious disease protocols. The Emory medical team has maintained its extensive safety procedures throughout this treatment process and is confident that the discharge of these patients poses no public health threat.

?The Emory Healthcare team is extremely pleased with Dr. Brantly?s and Mrs. Writebol's recovery, and was inspired by their spirit and strength, as well as by the steadfast support of their families,? says Ribner.

Emory Healthcare?s mission is to heal and to advance knowledge. The team of health care professionals who cared for these Ebola patients has trained for years to treat and contain the most dangerous infectious diseases in the world. The experience, understanding and learning that Emory?s medical professionals have gained during this process will be applied, not only to this particular disease, but to other emergent diseases that the world may confront in the future.

http://news.emory.edu/stories/2014/07/euh_ebola_patient/campus.html

 

[Pathfinder]

Re: U.S. - Emory University Hospital special isolation unit treats two Americans infected with Ebola virus in Liberia - both discharged

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Emory University announces both U.S. patients stricken with Ebola released from hospital

PBS NewsHour

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9MO23MAqb_o

 

[Pathfinder]

Re: U.S. - Emory University Hospital special isolation unit treats two Americans infected with Ebola virus in Liberia - both discharged

Ebola Survivor Nancy Writebol: All Doctors Could Say Was 'We Are So Sorry'

By Maggie Fox

Nancy Writebol was certain she just had malaria. It was common in Liberia, and she?d been working long hours supporting the team treating Ebola patients, hours that kept her out late in the evenings, when the mosquitoes were most active.
...
It was late July and she?d felt well enough to have dinner with her husband and co-worker David, and one of the doctors, in their home in Monrovia. David and the doctor left for an all-staff meeting, and Nancy lay down to rest.

?David came in shortly after they left and he said, ?Nancy I have something I need to tell you,?? she said in an interview at the Charlotte, North Carolina headquarters of her employer, the missionary group SIM USA. ?He said, ?Nancy, Kent has Ebola,? and my heart sank. And then David said, ?and so do you.??
...
Writebol had been recruited from SIM?s main offices where she?d welcomed new missionaries and helped their families get settled in. David was running the facility, ensuring lights and plumbing worked.

?My responsibility originally was I was going to mix the bleach solutions,? Writebol said. She ended up helping doctors and nurses suit up before they entered the isolation unit, and then helped them remove the suits correctly when they came out.

It?s a vital job ? the layers of gloves, the goggles, the boots, the body suits all protect workers from the virus-laden bodily fluids that spread infection. But all that protection does no good if the doctors and nurses get even a few drops of that contaminated mess on their hands or skin, or in their eyes, as they pull the gear off.

Nancy helped spray everyone down, get the layers off in the right order and then made sure everything got either burned or disinfected.

?I was considered to be in a low-risk zone,? she said. ?There was a line, an actual line on the floor that I didn?t cross. When they came out and I decontaminated them, I never touched them. I was wearing a gown, I was wearing gloves, and sometimes I was wearing a mask, but not all the time.? But she always had a gown and gloves on. ?There was never a fear that I would be contaminated.?
...
Full text & video:
http://www.nbcnews.com/storyline/eb...writebol-all-doctors-could-say-was-we-n194361

 

[Pathfinder]

Posted: 7:36 a.m. Tuesday, March 3, 2015

Charlotte Ebola survivor leaves US to return to Africa


CHARLOTTE, N.C. ?

An American missionary who survived the Ebola virus is returning to the West African country where she was infected last year.

A spokesman for the North Carolina-based charity SIM said Monday that Nancy Writebol is returning to Liberia with her husband. SIM spokesman George Salloum says David Writebol is taking over as the charity's country director.

He says the Charlotte couple are due to arrive in Liberia in a couple of weeks...


...
http://www.wsoctv.com/news/news/local/charlotte-ebola-survivor-leaves-us-return-africa/nkMmk/