Health Care

NBC freelancer contracts Ebola in Liberia

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An American freelance cameraman working with an NBC News crew in Liberia tested positive for Ebola on Thursday and will be flown back to the United States for treatment. 

NBC News President Deborah Turness said four other NBC News employees, including Chief Medical Editor Nancy Snyderman, will be flown back the United States on a private charter plane and quarantined for 21 days out of an abundance of caution. 

{mosads}The four crew members have shown no symptoms of Ebola and are being monitored closely. 

“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,” Turness said in a note to NBC staff. 

The freelance cameraman is the fourth U.S. citizen reported to contract Ebola. 

The news comes as media attention has surrounded a man with Ebola who traveled to the United States from Liberia last month, while showing symptoms of the disease. He is now being treated in isolation in Dallas while officials trace who might have come in contact with him.  

NBC News did not reveal the name of the cameraman nor the medical center in the United States that is expected to treat him, saying only he will receive “treatment at a medical center that is equipped to handle Ebola patients.” 

The individual had worked in Liberia for the past three years and began working with NBC on Tuesday. 

The news organization is working with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, and Doctors without Borders.