BETHESDA, Md., March 16 (UPI) -- The condition of a U.S. healthcare worker who was flown back to the United States after contracting the Ebola virus while volunteering in Sierra Leone has worsened, health officials said.
The worker, whose name wasn't reported, was transported by chartered aircraft from West Africa to the U.S. National Institutes of Health facility in Bethesda on Friday. Upon evaluation, the NIH determined the patient was in serious condition.
The agency said Monday the patient has worsened and is now in critical condition.
According to the American Hospital Association, a patient in critical condition has unstable vital signs that are also outside the normal limits, the patient may be unconscious and indicators are unfavorable.
The NIH offered no other details about the patient's condition.
Though the patient's identity has not been revealed, the Boston-based Partners in Health nonprofit charity said the volunteer worked with the organization, along with 10 other aid workers who have been evacuated from Sierra Leone. Those workers, who were exposed to the virus through contact with the sickened worker, were flown back to the United States for evaluation.
The aid workers, who are likely doctors, nurses and other medical professionals, will be taken to the Nebraska Medical Center, Emory University in Atlanta and near the NIH. Each medical facility has specialized Ebola-treatment units. None of them experienced any symptoms of the disease.
A World Health Organization situation report released Monday says some 10,144 people have died from this recent outbreak of Ebola.
