MOSCOW, November 11 (Sputnik) – New York doctor Craig Spencer, who was the first person in the city to test positive for Ebola, has been cured of the disease and is scheduled to be released from hospital on Tuesday, the New York Times reports.
"After a rigorous course of treatment and testing, Dr. Spencer poses no public health risk and will be discharged from the hospital tomorrow," Ana Marengo, a spokeswoman for the Bellevue Hospital Center, where Spencer has been undergoing treatment, said in a statement quoted by the New York Times Monday.
According to the newspaper, Spencer was given a range of treatments, including an experimental drug and blood plasma, donated by a recovered Ebola patient.
Craig Spencer, a 33-year-old health worker from New York, who had been treating Ebola patients in Guinea, first displayed symptoms of the virus (high fever and diarrhea) on October 23, after his return from Guinea where he had spent around a month.
Spencer's condition was serious at first, but it had improved significantly by Saturday.
The current Ebola epidemic started in southern Guinea in December, 2013, subsequently spreading to other West African countries, with several Ebola cases having been reported in Europe and in the United States.
According to the World Health Organization, the total number of confirmed, probable and suspected cases of Ebola currently stands at 13,567. A total of 4,951 people have died from the virus.
There is no officially approved cure for the disease, but several countries are currently working on developing Ebola vaccines, with Russia planning to introduce three vaccines within the next six months.
