The NBC News cameraman who was the fifth American to contract Ebola in West Africa has been declared free of the virus.
Ashoka Mukpo will leave a medical facility in Nebraska on Wednesday, according to the hospital. He took to Twitter to share the good news.
Just got my results. 3 consecutive days negative. Ebola free and feeling so blessed. I fought and won, with lots of help. Amazing feeling
— ashoka (@unkyoka) October 21, 2014
The knowledge that there’s no more virus in my blood is a profound relief. I’m so lucky. Wish everyone who got sick could feel this.
— ashoka (@unkyoka) October 21, 2014
Mukpo was infected in Liberia where he was freelancing. He is not sure how he contracted the virus.
“I was around a lot of sick people the week before I got sick,” he said in the statement. “I thought I was keeping a good distance and wish I knew exactly what went wrong.”
More than 4,000 people have died in Liberia, Sierra Leon and Guinea since the largest outbreak of the deadly virus began months ago. Mukpo arrived at the Nebraska Medical Center on Oct. 6.
Following a blood test by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the hospital released this statement via Mukpo.
“Recovering from Ebola is a truly humbling feeling,” Mukpo said in the statement. “Too many are not as fortunate and lucky as I’ve been. I’m very happy to be alive.”
Mukpo was one of three to receive a convalescent serum from blood donated by Ebola survivor, Dr. Kent Brantly. Texas nurse Nina Pham, who is being treated at the National Institutes of Health in Maryland, also received the serum and is said to be feeling well. A second Texas nurse, Amber Vinson, is being treated at Emory University Hospital in Atlanta. Her condition is unknown.
SOURCE: Washington Post, Twitter | PHOTO CREDIT: Getty