An American nurse with exposure to the Ebola virus while working in Sierra Leone arrived safely at the NIH Clinical Center on Dec. 11 for observation and to enroll in a clinical protocol.
The nurse was transferred from an overseas location via private charter medevac to the facility in Bethesda, Md.
“Out of an abundance of caution, the patient has been admitted to the NIH Clinical Center’s special clinical studies unit that is specifically designed to provide high-level isolation capabilities and is staffed by infectious diseases and critical care specialists,” said an NIH statement issued Thursday.
The NIH clinical center is one of 35 institutions designated as Ebola treatment centers earlier this month by the U.S. government. The unit staff is trained in strict infection control practices optimized to prevent spread of potentially transmissible agents such as Ebola.
The NIH has not confirmed that the patient definitively has Ebola and has not released any additional at this time.