Ebola-free nurse Pham receives hug from US president Obama

President Barack Obama embraces nurse Nina Pham during White House meeting.

Ebola-free nurse Pham receives hug from US president Obama
The first person to contract Ebola while inside the U.S. was discharged from the hospital Friday, and shortly thereafter met with the American president.

Nurse Nina Pham tested positive for Ebola on Oct. 11, three days before another nurse, Amber Vinson, contracted the virus. Both nurses were attending to Liberian patient Thomas Eric Duncan at a Dallas hospital. Duncan contracted the virus in Liberia.

“I feel fortunate and blessed to be standing here today," she told reporters following her discharge from the National Institutes of Health hospital in Bethesda, Maryland, according to media reports.

"Throughout this ordeal, I have put my faith in God and my medical team.”

Shortly after she was discharged, Pham met with President Barack Obama at the White House in a meeting that was closed to print journalists. In a clear indication that Obama had no reservations about Pham’s health, the president fully embraced her during their meeting. Two photographers were allowed inside the Oval Office meeting.

White House Press Secretary Josh Earnest told reporters that the meeting was an "opportunity for the president to thank her for her service." 

"There are a lot of individuals who treated that first Ebola patient in Dallas who we don’t know about. So this is somebody who displayed the kind of selfless service to her fellow man that I think is worthy of some praise," he said. 

 The family of the other nurse announced Wednesday that Vinson was declared free of the virus.

Ebola has killed as many as 4,877 people and infected more than 9,900, according to the latest figures from the World Health Organization. Guinea, Liberia and Sierra Leone are the countries hardest hit by the 2014 outbreak of the virus.

A doctor who recently worked in West Africa became New York City’s first diagnosed Ebola case, officials confirmed Thursday.

Craig Spencer recently returned from Guinea where he worked with the medical humanitarian group Doctors Without Borders.

His case marks the fourth time a patient has been diagnosed with Ebola in the U.S after Duncan, Pham and Vinson.

Anadolu Agency
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