UPDATE: Ebola patient arrives in Nebraska

Posted by: KLKN Newsroom, 8@klkntv.com

OMAHA, Neb. (AP) Doctor who caught Ebola while working in Liberia arrives for treatment at Nebraska hospital.

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By: Jenn Schanz
jschanz@klkntv.com Nebraska is about to get its first Ebola patient.

Dr. Rick Sacra is the third American who contracted the disease while doing missionary work in Liberia. 

Sacra’s wife says he’s very weak, but was able to board the plane back to the U.S. on his own. He’s expected to arrive at UNMC Friday morning.

Debbie Sacra is asking for prayers for her husband, who left for Africa this summer.

“When he left at the beginning of August, we understood that there was a risk he could become sick with this deadly virus,” she says. 

The family doctor from Massachusetts, was treating pregnant woman in Liberia. Now he’ll be the first patient, safely guarded, at the largest of four bbio-containment units in the country.

“We have been preparing for this type of event for a very long time. This is not a surprise that we’re being called to serve in this way,” says UNMC Chancellor Jeffrey Gold. 

The two Americans treated before Sacra went to Emory in Atlanta. They were given the experimental drug ZMAPP, which appeared to help them recover.

This time around will be different, because that drug is out of supply.

According to a New York Times article, a new study shows its promise for Ebola treatment, but it could take months to get more produced. 

In the meantime, Sacra’s wife says he’s not afraid of death, and that he’s committed to helping the people of Liberia, by spreading awareness of this deadly disease.

“As Rick wrote to his medical colleagues, this epidemic is a wild fire about to rage out of control,” she says. 

According to the Center For Disease Control, nearly 700 people have died from Liberia since this latest outbreak.