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Doctor infected with Ebola dies in Nebraska

Posted at 5:44 AM, Nov 17, 2014
and last updated 2014-11-17 10:30:39-05

Dr. Martin Salia, a surgeon infected with the Ebola virus while working in Sierra Leone and later transported to Nebraska Medical Center for treatment, has died.

Salia arrived in Nebraska Saturday after working at Kissy United Methodist Hospital in Freetown, Sierra Leone, and initially tested positive for Ebola on Monday, November 10.

"It is with an extremely heavy heart that we share this news," Dr. Phil Smith, medical director of the Biocontainment Unit at Nebraska Medical Center and professor of infectious diseases at the University of Nebraska Medical Center, said in a statement.

Salia, originally from Sierra Leone, was a permanent resident in the United States and married to a U.S. citizen. He was 44 years old.

Salia was the third person with the virus to be treated at Nebraska Medical Center. When he arrived Saturday, he was already battling advanced symptoms of Ebola, including kidney and respiratory failure.

Information from The Associated Press, Reuters and ABC News was used in this report.