Nebraska medical facility says it’s monitoring American possibly exposed to Ebola

An American who may have been exposed to the lethal disease Ebola while in the Democratic Republic of Congo arrived in Nebraska to be checked, the medical facility revealed Saturday.

The unidentified individual had been in the nation offering medical assistance at the time exposure may have happened, as indicated by a news release from Nebraska Medicine.

Now, the individual has not shown any symptoms of the infection, but rather the person “will be monitored closely,” the facility said.

In the event that signs of Ebola are seen, the individual will be admitted and the Nebraska Biocontainment Unit will be activated.

“This person may have been exposed to the virus but is not ill and is not contagious,” said Ted Cieslak MD, an infectious diseases specialist with Nebraska Medicine. “Should any symptoms develop, the Nebraska Medicine/UNMC team is among the most qualified in the world to deal with them.”

Perception of the individual could last as long as two weeks and is being done in an area that neither the general population nor patients can get to, the facility said.

“While this person isn’t officially a patient, we will be honoring their request for privacy while they are being monitored here,” Nebraska Medicine said.

Updates on the individual’s condition aren’t anticipated “unless the need arises,” the facility said.

Nebraska Medicine treated three patients with Ebola in 2014. In 2015, a few others were observed after exposures, none of whom built up the disease. Nebraska Medical Center is home to one of the country’s few committed biocontainment units, its news release said.