Ebola Patient Being Treated in Nebraska Dies

A doctor who contracted the Ebola virus in Africa and was brought to a Nebraska medical center over the weekend for treatment has died, officials said Monday.

The death of Martin Salia, MD, marks the second Ebola-related death in the US since the outbreak began in Africa earlier this year. He tested positive for the disease Nov. 10 and was flown to the Nebraska Medical Center in Omaha on Saturday to receive treatment. He died shortly after 4 a.m. Monday, the hospital said.

“Dr. Salia was extremely critical when he arrived here, and unfortunately, despite our best efforts, we weren’t able to save him,” said Phil Smith, MD, the director of the hospital’s biocontainment unit.

Salia was a citizen of Sierra Leone and resident of Maryland. He had been working at a hospital in Sierra Leone when he apparently caught the virus. According to the Associated Press, he began showing symptoms of Ebola on Nov. 6, but he initially tested negative for the disease.

Salia was the ninth Ebola patient to be treated for the disease in the US. Only one other patient who received care here — Thomas Eric Duncan – died of the disease. Duncan’s case led to the infection of two nurses, both of whom have since recovered and been released.

Craig Spencer, MD, a New York City doctor who caught the virus while working in Africa, was released from Bellevue Hospital last week after successful treatment.

Smith said doctors used every treatment possible in their attempts to save Salia. On Twitter, the hospital said Salia received a dose of convalescent plasma and ZMapp therapy. ZMapp is an experimental treatment that has been used on other patients in the outbreak.

The hospital scheduled a news conference for noon Eastern to disclose more information about the case.