President Obama honors second man to die of Ebola in U.S.

Another doctor has died from Ebola, marking the second person to die of the disease in the United States.

LOS ANGELES, CA (Catholic Online) - Martin Salia, a Sierra Leone native whose family lived in Maryland, was flown to Nebraska Medical Center where he was placed in a Biocontainment unit. Just 36 hours later the surgeon had died.

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After returning Salia was tested on November 7 after he became ill and on November 10 his test came back as a "false negative." Isatu Salia, the surgeon's wife, said that her husband thought he had contracted malaria or typhoid after he received the results from the test.

Salia had worked at a hospital in Freetown, though it was not used to treat Ebola. Officials from Sierra Leone reported that he had worked in several other facilities in the country.

The director of critical care at Nebraska Medical Center, Daniel Johnson, reported that Salia was in critical condition when he arrived at the hospital. He was suffering from kidney and respiratory failure, and medical teams placed him on dialysis, a ventilator and were giving him plasma from a surviving Ebola patient.

The experimental drug Zmapp-which had showed some promise in fighting the disease in others-was given to Salia, though it did not seem to help.

"We used every possible treatment available to give Dr. Salia every possible opportunity for survival," said Phil Smith, the medical director of the Biocontainment Unit said. "As we have learned, early treatment with these patients is essential. In Dr. Salia's case, his disease was already extremely advanced by the time he came here for treatment."

"Dr. Salia was extremely critical when he arrived here, and unfortunately, despite our best efforts, we weren't able to save him."

Even President Obama commented on the doctor's death. He extended "heartfelt condolences," to Salia's family and friends.

"Dr. Salia dedicated his life to saving others," Obama said. "He viewed this vocation as his calling."

A statement from Salia's family asked for privacy for his wife and two sons and thanked the medical team who tried to save Salia's life.

"We're very grateful for the efforts of the team led by Dr. Smith," Isatu Salia said Monday. "In the short time we spent here, it was apparent how caring and compassionate everyone was. We are so appreciative of the opportunity for my husband to be treated here and believe he was in the best place possible."

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