WELL, THIS IS COMFORTING: NBC News Freelancer in Africa Diagnosed with Ebola. “An American freelance cameraman working for NBC News in Liberia has tested positive for Ebola and will be flown back to the United States for treatment. The infected freelancer was hired Tuesday to be a second cameraman for NBC News Chief Medical Editor and Correspondent Dr. Nancy Snyderman. Snyderman is with three other NBC News employees on assignment in Monrovia, reporting on the Ebola outbreak.”
Plus: “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.”
Related: CDC “way over their head on this.” Takeaway: It sounds like NBC News and Samaritan’s Purse are much more cautious and responsible than the CDC.
And while I’d like to know more about how this freelancer may have caught it, he’s a westerner, presumably aware of the dangers and how to avoid infection, not treating people with Ebola, and he still got infected. That could happen to anybody, of course, but it makes me wonder if this strain of Ebola is easier to catch than we think.