Ebola-Infected Surgeon In Sierra Leone Expected At Nebraska Medical Center For Treatment

A surgeon working at a Sierra Leone hospital has been diagnosed with Ebola and is expected to be transported to the University of Nebraska Medical Center in Omaha for treatment. The surgeon is a citizen of Sierra Leone and a permanent U.S. resident, according to The Associated Press.

While the hospital did not confirm if he will be brought to the center for treatment, it said in a statement, according to The Telegraph, that the patient, Dr. Martin Salia, was being evaluated for possible treatment at the hospital. If the man is deemed fit for travel, he will reach the U.S. from Sierra Leone on Saturday. Salia will become the third Ebola patient to travel to the Nebraska center and will be the tenth Ebola patient to be treated in the U.S.

"The members of the crew will determine whether the patient is stable enough for transport -- if he is, he would arrive in Omaha sometime Saturday afternoon," Taylor Wilson, the hospital spokesperson, said in a statement, according to CNN, adding: "We will update you on the status of this patient as more information becomes available."

According to AP, which cited a federal official, Salia worked as a general surgeon at Kissy United Methodist Hospital in Freetown, and is in stable condition at an Ebola treatment center in the city. He reportedly tested positive for Ebola on Monday after displaying symptoms on Nov. 6.

The Nebraska Medical Center has also treated Dr. Rick Sacra, who was released in September, and Ashoka Mukpo, who was released in late October. Nine people have so far been treated for the deadly disease in the U.S., but only one person, Thomas Eric Duncan from Liberia, has died of Ebola in the U.S.

The Nebraska hospital is one of four in the U.S. equipped to deal with dangerous infectious diseases, AP reported, adding that Salia is scheduled to be treated there because workers at two other designated hospitals are undergoing a 21-day monitoring period after treating other Ebola patients.

The disease has killed over 5,100 people and has infected nearly 14,000 people, mostly in West Africa. Hospitals are using experimental drugs and blood serum from an Ebola survivor to treat the patients infected with the virus.