Amber Vinson, the second health-care worker to contract Ebola in the U.S., is now free of the virus, according to her family.
“We are overjoyed to announce that, as of yesterday evening, officials at Emory University Hospital and the Centers for Disease Control are no longer able to detect virus in her body,” Vinson’s family said in a statement.
A source close to the family said that doctors declared Vinson to be free of the virus after three consecutive negative blood tests and worked closely with hospital officials on the statement regarding her condition.
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Vinson, a Dallas-based nurse, contracted the virus after caring for Thomas Eric Duncan, the Liberian man who became the first and, so far, only person to die of Ebola in the U.S. Her case raised alarm as she flew from Cleveland to Dallas shortly before being diagnosed. She has since been transferred to Atlanta and remains in treatment at Emory’s Serious Communicable Diseases Unit.
“Amber and our family are ecstatic to receive this latest report on her condition,” Vinson’s mother Debra Berry said in the statement. “We all know that further treatment will be necessary as Amber continues to regain strength, but these latest developments have truly answered prayers and bring our family one step closer to reuniting with her at home.” RELATED: Family of nurse sick with Ebola: ‘In no way was Amber careless’ Both Texas officials and the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention tightened up protocols after Vinson was diagnosed. On Tuesday, federal health officials upgraded the condition of Nina Pham, the first nurse to contract Ebola from Duncan, from “fair” to “good.” Emory University Hospital spokesperson Janet Christenbury said the hospital could not comment on Vinson’s condition because of federal privacy laws.
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