Liberian officials confirmed Sunday that American missionary Nancy Writebol will be transported to the United States on Tuesday for further Ebola virus treatment.
Writebol was infected last month while working with Ebola patients in Liberia through the Serving in Mission humanitarian organization.
The 60-year-old is scheduled to leave Africa between 1 a.m. and 1:30 a.m. local time on Tuesday, according to Liberian Information Minister Lewis Brown. She will be transported by medical evacuation team to Emory University Hospital in Atlanta, Georgia, which has an isolation center built with input from the Center for Disease Control and Prevention.
Writebol joins her colleague Dr. Kent Brantly at the hospital, who is said to be improving after being transported there on Saturday. Dr. Brantly, like Writebol, was caring for Ebola-stricken patients at Samaritan's Purse Ebola Consolidated Case Management Center in Monrovia before becoming infected himself.
The deadly and contagious Ebola virus typically causes fever, diarrhea, vomiting, headache, joint pain, and other symptoms. The disease is transmitted by coming into contact with the bodily fluid of an infected person, or touching objects such as needles that have come into contact with infected bodily fluid. The CDC recommends proper sterilization of medical equipment, and wearing protective clothing to decrease the chances of infection.
BBC News reported that the outbreak began in southern Guinea in February, and quickly spread to Liberia and Sierra Leone. At least 729 people have been killed by the virus, and there is no cure. The mortality rate of the current outbreak is 60 percent.
Despite the inherent danger in their missions, Writebol and her husband, David, were committed to continuing their work in the area.
"We weren't telling them to come back; we were just willing to help them come back," Rev. John Munro told the Wichita Eagle. Munro serves as the Writebols pastor at Calvary Church in Charlotte, North Carolina, and his congregation sponsored the couple's mission.
"They said, 'The work isn't finished, and it must continue.'"
