EBOLA IN US: Ebola patient arrives at US hospital

A surgeon diagnosed with Ebola in his native Sierra Leone arrived Saturday afternoon in the United States, where he will undergo treatment at The Nebraska Medical Center in Omaha. “I can confirm a patient with the Ebola virus has landed here,” hospital spokeswoman Taylor Wilson told CNN. While Wilson did not identify the patient, the family of Dr. Martin Salia has previously said he is the patient. Salia, who is a legal permanent resident of the United States, is married to a U.S. citizen, his relatives told CNN Baltimore affiliate WJZ. The U.S. Embassy in Freetown confirmed a flight carrying a doctor recently diagnosed with Ebola departed Saturday (11 p.m. ET on Friday) en route to The Nebraska Medical Center. Taylor confirmed a flight landed carrying an Ebola-stricken patient arrived at 3:51 p.m. local time Saturday. The Sierra Leone team that was caring for the patient characterized him as critically ill, possibly sicker than the first patients successfully treated in the United States, according to a statement from The Nebraska Medical Center. “My sister is very worried and upset,” Salia’s brother-in-law, Ibrahim Kargbo, told CNN, referring to Salia’s wife, Isatu. “Right now, she is pretty devastated. … We’re all just praying he recovers soon.” The doctor was splitting his time between New Carrollton, Maryland, and Sierra Leone, where he works at a Methodist hospital, WJZ reported. “He doesn’t think of himself as someone important,” his son, Maada Salia, told WJZ. “He puts himself down and helps those who really need help.” Salia treated all sorts of patients at the hospital in Sierra Leone — one of three countries most affected by the deadly virus.