US Ebola patient Kent Brantly 'thrilled to be alive'

The two US aid workers infected with the Ebola virus in
Liberia have recovered and have been discharged from
hospital, medical officials have said.
Dr Kent Brantly, 33, thanked supporters for their prayers at
a news conference in Atlanta. Nancy Writebol, 59, was
discharged on Tuesday.
The two were brought to the US for treatment three weeks
ago.

The outbreak has killed more than 1,300 people in West
Africa, with many of the deaths occurring in Liberia.

'Not on radar'

"Today is a miraculous day," said Dr Brantly, who appeared
healthy if pallid as he addressed reporters on Thursday at
Emory University hospital.
"I am thrilled to be alive, to be well, and to be reunited with
my family.
As a medical missionary, I never imagined
myself in this position."
He said Ebola "was not on the radar" when he and his
family moved to Liberia in October.
After his family returned to the US as the Ebola outbreak
tore through West Africa, he continued to treat Ebola
patients and woke up on 23 July feeling "under the
weather".

Dr Brantly said he lay in bed for nine days, getting
progressively sicker and weaker. On 1 August, he was flown
to Atlanta for treatment at Emory.
Emory infectious disease specialist Dr Bruce Ribner said
after rigorous treatment and testing officials were confident
Dr Brantly had recovered "and he can return to his family,
his community and his life without public health concerns".

The group for which he was working in Liberia, Samaritan's
Purse, said they were celebrating his recovery.

"Today I join all of our Samaritan's Purse team around the
world in giving thanks to God as we celebrate Dr Kent
Brantly's recovery from Ebola and release from the
hospital," Franklin Graham said in a statement.
Riots in Liberia
Nancy Writebol's husband David said in a statement that
she was free of the virus but was significantly weakened.
The family decided to leave the hospital privately in order to
allow her to rest and recuperate.
Meanwhile, South Africa on Thursday said non-citizens
arriving from Ebola-affected areas of West Africa - the
countries of Guinea, Liberia and Sierra Leone - would not be
allowed into the country.

And police in Liberia's capital, Monrovia, fired live rounds
and tear gas during protests after a quarantine was imposed
to contain the spread of the deadly virus.
Residents of the capital's West Point slum area said the
barbed wire blockade stops them buying food and working.

There is no cure for Ebola, one of the deadliest diseases
known to humans, with a fatality rate in this outbreak of
50-60%.

But both Dr Brantly and Mrs Writebol received an
experimental treatment known as ZMapp.
The drug, which has only been made in extremely limited
qualities, had never been tested on humans and it remains
unclear if it is responsible for their recovery.

ZMapp was also given to a Spanish priest, who died, and
three Liberian health workers, who are showing signs of
improvement.