An Ebola patient being treated at the National Institute of Health in Bethesda has been upgraded from fair to good condition, the institute announced Tuesday.
Nina Pham, 26, the first person to contract the deadly virus in the U.S., is one of two nurses exposed to the disease while treating Thomas Eric Duncan, a Liberian man who died earlier this month from the disease. The other nurse, Amber Vinson, 29, has been taken to Emory University Hospital in Atlanta.
Pham is being treated in the NIH Clinical Center, which is "specifically designed to provide high-level isolation capabilities and is staffed by infectious disease and critical care specialists," officials said. The institute said it is "taking every precaution to ensure the safety of NIH patients, staff and the public."
An American doctor exposed to Ebola in Sierra Leone and admitted to the NIH last month was released Oct. 7 after his symptoms were determined not to be related to the disease, the NIH said.
The NIH has received "countless inquiries and expressions of support" for Pham and said she is thankful for the well wishes.
Pham's transport from Dallas to NIH via Frederick Municipal Airport made national headlines. Shortly before her flight, she was captured in good spirits in a video posted online, saying she was headed to "Party in Maryland."
twitter.com/cmcampbell6