dr. ribner will take questions. we have moderated call-in line as well. dr. ribner. >> good morning and thank you for coming here today. i'm bruce ribner the medical director of the infectious disease unit at emory university hospital. sorry. i lead the team of doctors, nurses, laboratory technologyists, chaplins, and

dr. ribner at emery university where dr. kent brantly and nancy writeboll were treated in the last few weeks. nancy writeboll were released on tuesday and you all watched as dr. kent brantly walked out of the hospital calling this a miraculous day. i wanted to get to the point that you made of this serum, and the hopes -- they cannot say one way or the other if this experimental drug had any impact, if it delayed the recoverry, the jury, the verdict, whatever you want to call it is very much out on that. >> it's impossible to determine what effect this experimental drug had on the course, what it made no difference, made them better or theoretically could have delayed their recovery. the one thing that we're all happy about is that the excellent medical care that they received at emery certainly had a lot to do with their recovery. >> and this staff is assisting and developing guidelines that will be distributed to medical professionals in west africa. specifically in the treatment of the thousands of others who are right no

dr. ribner will take questions. we have moderated call-in line as well. dr. ribner. >> good morning and thank you for coming here today. i'm bruce ribner the medical director of the infectious disease unit at emory university hospital. sorry. i lead the team of doctors, nurses, laboratory technologyists, chaplins, and many others who have cared for dr. brantley and mrs. writebol. two patients who were treated at emory university hospital for ebola virus disease. today i'm pleased to announce that dr. brantley is being discharged from the hospital. after a rigorous course of treatment, and thorough testing, we have determined in conjunction with the centers for disease control and state health departments, that dr. brantley has recovered from the ebola virus infection and that he can return to his family, to his community, and to his life without public health concerns. the second patient, mrs. writebol, was discharged this past tuesday, august 19th. the medical staff here at emory is confident that the discharge from the hospital of both of these patients pose

dr. bruce ribner, asked him about. >> people in atlanta are concerned. the risk is small but it would be even smaller if these patients did not come here. if you don't have anything magical to provide, why take the risk at all? >> i think you've been in that part of the world, you know the level of care that can be delivered. these are americans who went over there to supply humanitarian mission of medical care for these individuals and our feeling is that they deserve the best medical care to try and resolve this infection that they can get. most of the medical care consists of supportive care and our sense is, based on speaking to providers in that part of the world, that given our training, given our knowledge, given our unit, we can supply that supportive care much better than can be supplied in their current environment. >> part of that best care involves a nondescript room. you're looking at it there. this is this isolation area that we've been talking about. it's physically separated from other patient areas. you can't tell by looking at these pic

dr. ribner will take questions. we have a moderated call-in line as well. dr. ribner? r, the medical direct aror of the infectious university of emory hospital. i lead the team of doctors, nurses, laboratory technologists, chaplain, and many others who have cared for dr. brantly and mrs. writebol. two patients who were treated at emory university hospital for ebola virus disease. today i am pleased to announce that dr. brantly is being discharged from the hospital. after a rigorous course of treatment and thorough testing, we have determined in conjunction with the centers for disease control and state health departments, that dr. brantly has recovered from the ebola virus infection and that he can return to his family, to his community, and to his life without public health concerns. the second patient, mrs. writebol, was discharged this past tuesday, august 19. the medical staff here at emory is confident that the discharge from the hospital of both of these patients poses no public health threat. the hospital is respecting mrs. writebol's wishes for privacy at this t

dr. ribner, the team leader for the stations.m in the afternoon yesterday. he received that confirmation as well. up until that point, that's when they were taking one patient, they didn't know if those patients were going to be coming, but they confirmed that was the plan. obviously, these plans can change based on obligations are doing. how stable they are for flight, but one patient at a time was what we heard and both patients coming to emory. >> okay. and this isolation location. that would mean if they had family members who wanted to see them or visit them, they would not be able to have contact in any way, correct? or would it be they would be suited up just like the medical community would be before any kind of contact from family members? >> well, my understanding is that they're not going to allow the family members to wear the suits and go into the room because of safety concerns. they only want health care providers to be in the rooms, but just imagine a big glass box and that's what the isolation area sort of looks

dr. ribner about the process.e every night he is planning on going home, sleeping in his own bed at the house. he doesn't have concerns about possibly contaminate organize infecting his family with ebola. he says if he does the precautions properly, that shouldn't be a concern. >> hmm. all right. dr. sanjay gupta, i appreciate the update. obviously a lot of interest in this story. the human toll that it is taking on these two people and all those in west africa who have been infected. the treatment of u.s. soil. it's getting a lot of attention. but the source of their infections and so many others is in west africa. an ebola outbreak has already killed hundreds of people. it's being described as raging out of control in some places despite the efforts of very dedicated doctors. david mckenzie has an exclusive report from a treatment center in sierra leon. >> reporter: taking care to treat an unprecedented outbreak. ebola can lead to death with one drop of infected fluids. >> that's why we take every possible preca

dr. ribner, the lead doctor, he says he'll go home every night, he'll sleep in his own bed because his concernf being sick is so low, he doesn't worry about going back to his own home. >> thank you very much, sanjay gupta. i want to bring in a man who was infected with ebola and survived before they even knew what it was. that's what's incredible. he was performing an autopsy at the hospital. we'll show you now this is what's in now the democratic republic of the congo, in the '70s, it was zaire. he nicked himself with a scal l scalpel. weeks later he was gravely ill. at first it felt like the flu. for almost two weeks no symptoms, then you felt like you had the flu but much worse. when did you realize what you had was not the flu? and what was it about the symptoms specifically that made you know it was different? >> you know, the fever was certainly a big part of it. fever in flu normally doesn't drag on that long. and it carried on -- my wife made very good temperature charts. this went on for well over a week into two weeks, and that would not be typical for flu. in addition, the rash that

dr. bruce ribner, one of the leading physicians overseeing his care.e said there was no question bringing the patients to emory. they were ready for them. why take the risk at all? >> i think you have you have been in that part of the world and know the level of care that can be delivered. these are americans who went over there to supply humanitarian mission of medical care for these individuals and our feeling is they deserve the best medical care to try to resolve this infection they can get. >> reporter: by early saturday afternoon, brantley was transferred from his isolation on the plane to an ambulance on the tarmac. a caravan took to the streets of atlanta where his every move was tracked by air and ground. awaiting him at the hospital, a specially outfitted containment unit. one of only several in the world. >> what is the message for the general public that are concerned with having an american with the ebola virus in their backyard? >> this is not a virus. this is a patient. this is a neighbor, a parent, a child, a spouse, a sibling. this is

dr. bruce ribner showed me the protective suit he and the other staff would have to wear every time theyaw brantly. today, a completely different picture. in fact, it wasn't so much what we heard as what we saw. brantly, who was in isolation a day before, now holding hands with his wife amber. and hugging everyone of the 26-member team that he credits with saving his life. brantly moved to africa last fall with his family for a medical mission. it had nothing to do with ebola. that changed in the spring. we were in west africa as the outbreak began to heat up. >> these are tough conditions. >> brantly made the decision to fly his family home to the united states on july 20th. and then just three days later -- >> i woke up feeling under the weather. and then my life took an unexpected turn. as i was diagnosed with ebola virus disease. >> there is no way to know why he's done so well. a lot of attention was due to a story that we first reported about an experimental drug zmapp. the first of three doses given to brantly as he lay near death in liberia. never before had it been given to a hu

dr. ribner in charge.ey will have to do that several times a day, put on a mask with an air ventilation system and that's what they will look like when they go in the room. you've seen these moon suits, that's what they use in the fields in guinea, but this is more sophisticated, the goals are the same. cover up every square inch of your body. >> one more question in the short time we have left. we know the patients will arrive one at a time. their families won't probably have access to the isolation units but there will be some kind of communication, imagine? >> a glass box, one to two inches away, intercoms, telephones, that's how it needs to be done to keep the family members safe. >> unbelievable and the family members, you can't imagine what they are dealing with. sanjay, a little more time, it's the not knowing there are so many unknowns with this. >> i mean, all they know, all they have heard is this carries a mortality rate of 60 to 90%. it's scary. this health care team was out there taking care o

dr. bruce ribner heads emory's infectious disease unit and will help treat both patients. >> we feel we have the environment and expertise to offer them the maximum opportunity for recovery from these infections. >> reporter: bruce johnson is president of the group that sponsored writebol's missions. >> obviously, this virus has taken a lot out of them. they're very weak but responsive, being able to get up, take care of their needs, and are conversing with loved ones, with their doctors. so that's really encouraging. >> reporter: once in the united states, dr. brantly and writebol will be put in this isolation unit at emory, separated from other buildings. visitors must stand behind glass windows and use an intercom system to communicate. c.d.c. director dr. tom frieden said hospitals in the united states have the resources to contain the virus. >> any isolation unit in the u.s. can care for an ebola patient safely. what you do need, is a meticulous attention to detail. >> reporter: and what is that meticulous attention to detail? >> that means full precautions. it means careful disposal of

dr. bruce ribner believes they deserve the right to come home and have the best access to care. really they don't have a great chance of survival right now, there's a 60% fatality rate with the west african outbreak and no standard treatment or vaccination. they have to asupply supportive care, help the kidneys that might be shutting down or liver that might be shutting down function. they keep the patient on a ventilator to help the patient breathe. they are trying to help the patient's body survive long enough to be able to fight off this very deadly blood borne virus. >> which of the two missionaries is on the flight now? >> reporter: we got a notification this afternoon from samaritans first, the charity that both belong to that it was nancy may be the first one coming. she is the one who received this experimental blood treatment from a boy who had been treated you about dr. brantly and recovered from ebola. we haven't had any word what they plan to do here but they are talking to the cdc and national institutes of health and fda about possibly using an experimental treatme

dr. bruce ribner of emory said there was no cause for alarm among the public. >> from the time air ambulanceives in metropolitan atlanta area up to and including being hospitalized at emory university hospital we have taken every precaution that we know and our colleagues at the c.d.c know to ensure that there is no spread of this virus pathogen. >> woodruff: hari sreenivasan in our new york studios picks up the story from there. >> sreenivasan: to date, 729 people have died out of more than 1,300 documented or suspected infections. today, the world health organization said it would launch a $100 million plan to deploy more health workers to the region. it came one day after the c.d.c warned americans not to travel to the affected countries unless necessary. dr. tom frieden is the director of the c.d.c and he joins me now. first off, what can you tell people to assure them that this disease will not spread to atlanta or other parts of the united states as we bring these patients back? >> well, first off, it's really important to understand how ebola spreads and how it's spreading in africa.

dr. bruce ribner, one of the leading physicians overseeing brantly's care.of bringing the two americans who contracted ebola to emory. they were ready for them. why the risk at all? >> you've been in that part of the world and know the level of care that can be delivered. these are americans who went over there to supply humanitarian mission of medical care for these individuals. and our feeling is that they deserve the best medical care to try and resolve this infection that they can get. >> reporter: by early saturday afternoon, brantly was transferred from his isolation onboard the plane to an ambulance. the caravan took to the streets, his every move was tracked by air and ground. awaiting him at the hospital, a especially outfitted containment unit. >> what message do you have for folks at home, general public, a concern of an american with ebola virus in their backyard? >> this is not a virus. this is a patient. this is one of our neighbors. this is a parent. this is a child. this is a spouse. this is a sibling. it's a sick person who needs our help. >

dr. bruce ribner showed me the protective suit he and others would have to wear every time they saw brantlyfact it wasn't so much what we heard as what we saw. brantly, who was in isolation just a day ago, now holding hands with his wife amber. and hugging every one of the 26-member team that he credits with saving his life. brantly had moved to africa last fall with his family for a two-year medical mission. it had nothing to do with ebola. but that all changed in the spring. we were in west africa as the outbreak began to heat up. brantly made the decision to fly his family home to the united states on july 20th. and then just three days later -- >> i woke up feeling under the weather. and then my life took an unexpected turn as i was diagnosed with the ebola virus disease. given to brantly as he lay near death in lie beberia. within an hour, brantly's doctors said he made a dramatic turn around. by the next morning, he was able to stand up on his own and take a shower. coincidence or not, doctors are still being cautious. >> and frankly, we do not know whether it helped him. >> brantly's

dr. bruce ribner leads the medical teams trying to save both of their lives. >> they can have kidney failure, lung failure, breathing problems. our job is to keep them alive until such time as their body defenses can take care of their own. >> reporter: before they left liberia, brantly and writebol received a drug harvested from lab mice. >> it was the decision of the doctors and kent and nancy whether or not it would be administered. one of the scientists who helped develop zmapp says human trials are being developed for 2016. right now there's a shortage. >> let's check in now with dr. anthony fauci. doctor good morning. >> good morning. >> tell us how effective this experimental serum is or may be? >> certainly we're getting reports from the physicians taking care of the patients that seemingly associated with the administration of antibodies there was significant improvement. the exact effect of the intervention versus the norral company is difficult when you're dealing with a simg. or two patients. certainly there was good effect. >> what other options are there? >> right now the optio

dr. bruce ribner, these were the reporters asking questions about brantly's release. they asked dr. n immunity created for brantly and writebol. he said there really is no danger to a relapse. he would anticipate an immunity to this virus. i want to ask both of you guys just from a business perspective and put on your business cap, if they can figure out this was a cure and then they can go ahead and work with big pharma to get this out and to western africa and distributed, obviously there is a humanitarian need and then there's a business need that's filled. >> you first, zeke. >> first of all, it's not going to happen in six months. the experimental agents they were working on were exactly based upon this theory of immunity that people got infected had antibodies that could neutralize the virus and protect you for life. between that observation and a drug or a by biologic that works or can be marketed, very long gap. remember, these experimental agents had never been tested in humans before, so that's a long path of discovery years and years, and it's not going to solve west afric

dr. ribner said yesterday during the press conference, we really believe that the aggressive supportive care their good outcomes. i also think we had a wonderful team of physicians, nurses, laboratory personnel, who were all able to intervene to help these patients and i think that was a big part of it. >> i need to have a real talk with you here for a second. what also amazed us was the fact that all of you were, of course, smiles to see dr. kent brantly looking so hardy. you hugged him. we have been told how infectious this disease is and how it could be transferred from bodily fluid or whatever. this is a big statement. all of you, all of the physicians, all of the care team hugged him. there's no chance, there's no chance this virus lingers in him? >> so he is not at risk to transmit this infection to anyo anyone he's coming in contact with. i don't think we planned the group hug, but it was a really rewarding moment for all of us, and it's one of the things we look forward to as physicians, being able to shake hands and hug our patients as they're recovered and heading home. all of us h

dr. bruce ribner leads the medical team trying to save the lives of both victims. >> they can have kidney failure, they can have liver failure, lung failure, they can have bleeding problems. our job is keeping the patients alive until such time as their bodies' defenses can control the virus. >> reporter: according to his wife amber, brantly, tlaerks is in good spirits and continues to improve. before they left liberia brantly and writebol received zmapp, created with antibodies harvested by lab mice and mass produced using tobacco plants in kentucky. >> it was the decision of the doctors and kent and nancy whether or not it would be administered. >> reporter: one of the scientists who helped develop zmapp told us that human trials are due in 2015. one of the challenges is right now it's in very short supply so it's going to be very important to figure out a way to make sure there's enough of it to go around. charlie. >> let's check in now with dr. anthony fauci. doctor, good morning. >> good morning. >> tell us how effective this experimental serum is or may be. >> well certainly the rep

dr. bruce ribner leads the team charged with saving brantly's life.e an exclusive look at the suit he and his team have to wear each time they enter the room. >> this is the mask with the air purifying system. covered from head to toe, his own vital signs will need to be checked twice a day. but he says this is an assignment he has trained for his entire life. >> they deserve the best medical care to try and resolve this infection that they can get. >> reporter: that care we're describing is taking place right behind me. this is the hospital. one thing about that jet real quick, chris. that's the only jet of its sort really in the world. after it dropped off dr. brantly, it turned around, got reoutfitted back to liberia and nancy writebol, the second patient expected here before noon tomorrow. >> we have two big things to unpack here, the actual treatment and the circumstances of safety. we know you have the doctor there. we'll get to that in a second. sanjay, the curiosity of what do you do, if there's no known cure for ebola, we know about these mys