A Massachusetts doctor has recovered from Ebola and been released from the Nebraska Medical Center’s biocontainment unit.
Dr. Rick Sacra was released Thursday morning. He arrived September 5th after contracting Ebola while working in a hospital in Liberia. Sacra spent 20 days in the biocontainment unit, undergoing treatment that involved the use of a plasma serum and an experimental drug, TKM-Ebola. He also received supportive care.
Dr. Phil Smith, director of the biocontainment unit, says doctors learned that care is critical.
"One of the lessons learned is that it's not necessarily something high-tech. It might be getting a really good IV placed and giving the patient lots of fluids in the first couple of days might make a significant difference in mortality."
Dr. Sacra says it’ll take several weeks for him to fully regain strength, and he’s focused on getting well before deciding if he’ll return to Liberia. He says that country faces a shortage of health care workers and doctors are getting sick.
"I think what it points out is the urgency of a vaccine. I think if we can get a vaccine going, especially to target health care workers, that would be huge in terms of its impact. I know it's a few months off in terms of actually getting it going, but I think when that comes around that's going to have a huge impact on the manpower issues."
Two negative blood tests were required 24 hours apart for Sacra to be released from the hospital. Sacra, a family physician, and his wife will return home to Massachusetts soon.
