Sadly, Nebraska Medical Center has confirmed that Dr. Martin Salia has died after a fast-moving battle against the Ebola virus. The surgeon had been treating patients at several facilities in Sierra Leone when he became ill himself. As early as Nov. 6, Salia had tested negative for the deadly virus, but by Saturday, Nov. 15, he was transferred to Nebraska in deteriorating condition.
A press conference surrounding Salia's case was scheduled to take place earlier this morning. In the meantime, Nebraska has confirmed that it had treated Salia with a blood plasma transfusion and Zmapp therapy that has worked on several other patients. The surgeon had reportedly arrived at the facility Saturday already showing signs of kidney and respiratory failure, neither of which he was able to rebound from.
While Salia was not an American citizen, he had permanent residency in Annapolis, Maryland, where he lived with his wife and two sons. This case may well lead the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention to rethink its testing and quarantine guidelines, because just last week when Salia tested negative there was reportedly a celebration among those around him and no one had on protective gear. It is hard to understand why a virus that inevitably makes such a strong and deadly impact would not have shown up in Salia's blood work in the first place. Either the lab made a grave mistake or else the testing is not as on point as it will ultimately need to be in order to effectively diagnose and treat those who are ill.
Do you think we know enough about how to properly diagnose Ebola, or is the CDC going to have to research a way to run more intensive tests for the virus? Do you think this outbreak will have an end anytime soon? Tell us your thoughts in the comments below.
