Martin Salia, the Sierra Leone doctor who contracted ebola while treating patients in Sierra Leone passed away after a spirited battle with the ebola virus. The surgeon passed away in an Omaha medical facility where he had been flown in from Sierra Leone for treatment.
Dr. Matin Salia becomes the second American to die from ebola after another patient in Dallas Texas died of the same. Martin got into contact with the ebola virus as he was treating infected persons in Sierra Leone where the disease is most rampant and has already killed about 1200 people. It is not particularly known where exactly he got into contact with the disease but it is reported that he worked inan area with a high prevalence of the disease.
Martin Salia was flown in from Sierra Leone this Saturday after his wife, a U.S citizen, consented to compensate the state for any costs during the procedure.
Martin Salia, on his arrival in the United States, was immediately transported to the University of Nebraska Medical Center, one of the four medical centers in the United States with the requisite technical material to deal with the virus.
The surgeon, however, was not able to respond to the treatment. He died from the advancement of the disease into his system. Dr. Jeffrey Gold, Chancellor of the University of Nebraska Medical Center said, "We are reminded today that even though this was the best possible place for a patient with this virus to be, that in the very advanced stages, even the most modern techniques that we have at our disposal are not enough to help these patients once they reach the critical threshold."
By the time martin Salia had arrived, his kidneys had failed him, reported Dr. Gold. His breathing had become difficult. He was put on immediate continuous dialysis but within 12 hours, the disease had progressed, causing complete respiratory failure. Shortly after, low blood pressure followed. He received a blood plasma transfusion from a recovered patient but it was not enough. An experimental drug, ZMapp followed, no result. Martin Salia died after a spirited battle with the ebola virus.
