US Doctor Infected With Ebola Has Died

Surgeon Martin Salia has passed away after contracting Ebola while working in his native Sierra Leone. Martin was being treated in a biocontainment unit in a Nebraska hospital when he died. Two other patients with Ebola have been successfully treated at the hospital. Dr. Phil Smith, the medical director of the biocontainment unit, stated, "Dr. Salia was extremely critical when he arrived here, and unfortunately, despite our best efforts, we weren't able to save him."

Martin, who lived in Maryland but is a citizen of Sierra Leone, had been working in his home country's capital, Freetown, as a general surgeon. It is not clear whether he was involved in the care of Ebola patients. Martin first began to show symptoms of Ebola on Nov. 6 but tested negative for the virus. On Nov. 10 he eventually tested positive. This marks the second death from Ebola in the US. So far, Ebola has killed over 5,000 people in West Africa.