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NIH expected to admit potential Ebola patient
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The NIH is expecting to admit a patient exposed to Ebola virus to its clinical center within the coming days.
The patient is an American physician who was volunteering at an Ebola treatment unit in Sierra Leone, according to an NIH press release. The patient is being admitted for observation and to enroll in a clinical protocol.
As a precaution, the patient will be admitted to the NIH’s special clinical studies unit, which is designed for high-level isolation capabilities. However, the NIH emphasized that patients with Ebola can safely receive care at any hospital that follows CDC’s infection control recommendations and can isolate patients in private rooms.
The special clinical studies unit is staffed by infectious disease specialists and critical care specialists, and the unit’s entire staff is trained in strict infection control practices to prevent the spread of any potentially transmissible agent, including Ebola.
The NIH said the situation poses minimal risk to NIH staff and to the public.