One of two Americans treated for the Ebola virus expressed his gratitude to Emory University Hospital and those who have prayed for him Thursday morning as the hospital announced his release. Then, Dr. Kent Brantly asked for continued support for those in West Africa still fighting the virus and hugged all 26 members of his medical team at the hospital.

“Today is a miraculous day.” Brantly said. “I am thrilled to be alive, to be well and to be reunited with my family.”

At times holding back tears, Brantly showed little resemblance of a critically ill man that made the journey from Liberia about three weeks ago. Brantly, 33, and Nancy Writebol, 59, were infected with the virus while working at a missionary clinic. Brantly had been working with Samaritan’s Purse, a Christian aid organization, in Africa, where an Ebola outbreak has claimed more than 1,200 lives. Writebol worked for SIM USA, also a Christian aid group.

Despite a debate over whether the two ill Americans should have been brought to Atlanta for treatment, the head of the hospital’s infectious disease department, Dr. Bruce Ribner, said doctors were optimistic about the prognosis for the two.

““It was the right decision to bring these patients back to Emory for treatment,” Ribner said. We always suspected we had a good chance of helping these people survive,”

On Aug. 2, Brantly was flown out of Liberia and to Atlanta, and Writebol followed three days later. At Emory, the two were placed in an isolation ward and closely monitored by a team of five doctors and 21 nurses.

Both Brantly and Writebol received an experimental treatment called Zmapp, but it’s not known whether the drug helped or whether they improved on their own, as has happened to others who have survived the disease.

But these week, both tested negative to the virus, are free of symptoms and pose no health risk, Ribner said. Writebol was released Tuesday and asked for privacy as she continues to recover. Brantly was released Thursday, and appeared with his wife to read a statement for reporters.

“My family and I will now being going away for a period of time to reconnect, to decompress and to continue to recovery physically and emotionally,” Brantly said.

Patients who recover from Ebola generally don’t relapse and there is no evidence that they remain carriers of the virus, Ribner said. The Emory staff plans to compile experiences treating the patients to create guidelines for doctors in other parts of the world, he said.

 

© 2014 Cox Media Group.

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