An American cameraman helping to cover the Ebola outbreak in Liberia for NBC News has tested positive for the virus and will be flown back to the United States for treatment.
NBC News President Deborah Turness said Thursday the rest of the NBC News crew including medical correspondent Dr. Nancy Snyderman will be flown back to the U.S. and placed in quarantine for 21 days “in an abundance of caution.”
The cameraman has been working in Liberia for three years and covering the Ebola epidemic. He began shooting for the network Tuesday.
He began feeling tired and achy Wednesday and discovered he had a slight fever. He went to a treatment center Thursday to be tested.
The positive result came back just under 12 hours later.
The cameraman, who also is a writer, has been working in Liberia on various projects for the past three years. WJAR NBC 10 anchor Dan Jaenig reports that the cameraman is 33-year old Ashoka Mukpo, and is from Rhode Island.
Turness says none of the other NBC employees has shown any symptoms or warning signs of Ebola infection.
"The good news is this young man, our colleague, was admitted very, very early," Snyderman told Rachel Maddow Thursday evening. "He's in good spirits."
Snyderman added she and the other members of the NBC News team are feeling well and not showing symptoms of the Ebola virus but are going beyond CDC guidelines for their and others' safety.
"The doctors are optimistic about his prognosis," Mukpo's father, Mitchell Levy, said in a message to family and friends. Levy said his son, who also is a writer, "has been engaged with human rights work in West Africa for the last several years. When the Ebola outbreak occurred he felt compelled to return to Liberia to help shed light on how the crisis was being handled socially and politically."
In a note to staff, NBC News President Deborah Turness said: "We are doing everything we can to get him the best care possible. He will be flown back to the United States for treatment at a medical center that is equipped to handle Ebola patients.
"We are also taking all possible measures to protect our employees and the general public," Turness added in the note. "The rest of the crew, including Dr. Nancy, are being closely monitored and show no symptoms or warning signs. However, in an abundance of caution, we will fly them back on a private charter flight and then they will place themselves under quarantine in the United States for 21 days — which is at the most conservative end of the spectrum of medical guidance."
Here is the full text of Turness’ note to NBC News staff:
All:
As you know, Dr. Nancy Snyderman and our news team are in Liberia covering the Ebola outbreak. One of the members of their crew is an American freelance cameraman who has worked in Liberia for the past three years and has recently been covering the epidemic for US media outlets. On Tuesday he began working with our team. Today, he tested positive for Ebola.
We are doing everything we can to get him the best care possible. He will be flown back to the United States for treatment at a medical center that is equipped to handle Ebola patients. We are consulting with the CDC, Medicins Sans Frontieres and others. And we are working with Dr. Nancy on the ground in Liberia.
We are also taking all possible measures to protect our employees and the general public. The rest of the crew, including Dr. Nancy, are being closely monitored and show no symptoms or warning signs. However, in an abundance of caution, we will fly them back on a private charter flight and then they will place themselves under quarantine in the United States for 21 days – which is at the most conservative end of the spectrum of medical guidance.
We know you share our concern for our colleagues and we will continue to keep you up to date and informed. Please don't hesitate to reach out to me or David Verdi with any questions.
Deborah
