four countries in west africa are fighting an outbreak of ebola virus. it's highly contagious and deadly. and the countries with the largest number of cases, beginy, liberia and sierra leone, including conflict zones in poor countries. and could even the heroic volunteer staff make up for the lack of spending on health in this part of the world? still with us, dr. robert quigley, regional director for international sos, dr. anthony fauci, director of the national substitute of allergies and infectious diseases, and dr. daniel lucey at georgetown medical center. dr. fauci, already suspended flights to the infected countries, and the contact tracing team is in west africa trying to put together a timeline for this patient in nigeria. just how worried should the rest of west africa and the world be about a wider outbreak? >> well, rather than use the word, worry, ray, i would say be alert. certainly, the possibility more so in the countries surrounding the three or four countries that you mentioned because the borders are rather porus there. and when people

an escalating struggle against a threatening disease is the inside story. >> reporter: west africa's ebola outbreak is the largest every. and with no known cure or vaccine officials are shifting their focus to the strategy of containment. south africa has closed it's borders to certain travelers thursday. >> south africa is the first africa country that doesn't border the infection zone oppose the travel-related restrictioned. the hardest hit are guinea, liberia and sierra alone. 1300 are believed to have been killed and 2400 are pleased to be infected. in addition to banning air and sea travel to the three countries, closing the borders to help the aid of travelers. we have 15 check points between guinea, liberia and sierra leone. these are the highest emergency areas. >> but liberia may have taken the most dramatic step in trying to control the virus. the liberian capitol was made into a makeshift quarantine zone. no one is allowed in, and no one is allowed out. resulting in bess operate food shortages and widespread panic. strained healthcare systems and poor national infrastructur

we are very mindful of all of those in west africa who are still fighting for their lives against this threat, and those who are caring for them, putting their own lives in danger. it was the right decision to bring these patients back to emery for treatment. what we learned in caring for them will help advance the world's understanding of how to treat ebola virus infections, and help, hopefully, to improve survival in parts of the world where patients with this infection are treated. at emery, our mission is to heal and to advance knowledge. the team of professionals with me here today has trained for years to treat and contain the most infectious diseases in the world. we are grateful for the successful outcome in this case. but we are never going to be taking success for granted. three other critically important partners who have helped us throughout this episode deserve recognition today. our neighbors in the centers for disease control, the food and drug administration, and the state epidemiologists of georgia and north carolina. i will be taking your questions, as mr. ballard sai

he had returned from west africa. the concern that he could be affected with the ebola virus.e is now in strict isolation at mt. sinai hospital. that's where jason carol is tonight. what's the latest, jason? >> he's in strict isolation and doctors here are awaiting test results. they should come in within the next 24 hours, we could know, anderson as soon as tomorrow as to whether or not this patient has been infected with the ebola virus. when he showed up here this morning, explained where he had been, explained how he was feeling, doctors within several minutes got him into strict isolation and that is where he remains. i can also tell you that a new york city health department official after speaking with officials here, after speaking with the cdc, that official anderson believes that it is unlikely this patient has been infected with the ebola virus. also the chief medical virus saying it's not ebola, but the simple fact of the matter is, until they have those test results they cannot be sure. anderson? yeah, i mean, you know, i don't want to get people all panicked when

there's even cases where people think that westerners brought the bola to west africa of course that's not the case but that is what a lot of the villagers actually think and because we are talking about a poorer more third world nation. those types of regions tend to be a little more superstitious as you can probably imagine so with that superstition you know there it prevents education from coming in which is i think primarily the problem there the superstition is preventing people from even mentioning the word a ball of the they say they believe that if you even bring up the word that it brings the disease which we know that's not how diseases right and then you know i had been discussing earlier as well before this segment. about some of the other customs including you know in west africa some of the more rural villages they'll dig shallow graves that adds to the problem in some cases they'll even bury the dead within their own within their own homes they keep they keep because of the tribal customs they keep the dead near and dear apparently it's on your property sometimes like li

the death toll from ebola rises above 880 in west africa. another american has to fly back to the u.s. it was 100 years ago today that germany invaded belgium and britain declared war. heads of state come together to remember a major milestone in the great war. welcome to our viewers on public television in america and also around the globe. tonight, israel and hamas have agreed to a 72 hour cease-fire starting tuesday. egypt put forward the proposal. joint talks with palestinian negotiations in cairo. there were firings on both side of the border. we begin our report at hospital in gaza city. you may find some images disturbing. old and three years already scarred by war. shrapnel punctured his abdomen. he is stable but too shocked to even cry. he was among the casualties to arrive at the hospital on the day of an israeli cease-fire. >> this is a war against children and families. they should go and fight soldiers, not the children. what did they do this for? i don't think he did anything. >> survivors told us israeli missiles hit their hom

he goes to countries like west africa and is working to save lives. in a way, we owe him in taking care of him. in this unit in atlanta, we're able to isolate him, study the virus, figure out how to treat it in others. >> i think they're very courageous. they're people to be admired. they take their job and oath as a physician and a healer and a health care provider to take care of people even under extraordinary circumstances. you know, we had that kind of experience myself personally in the very early years of the hiv-aids pandemic. we had no idea what this was and how it's transmitted. it's what you do. it's your job as a physician. >> he said the trouble is going to be to control it in west africa. populated areas, areas with pour rust borders. that's one of the reasons it spreads there and won't spread here. >> you're right. such a noble cause going over there and treating the people who have this deadly virus. dr. samadi, should we worry here in this country? >> the reason why we got so many e-mails is because we have a second doctor that's goin

that is nancy writebol, she was a missionary working in west africa.pany which she works is sim corp. they are expected to, in the next hour, give a news conference from that same location, emory university. so on the campus but not right they are expected in the next few hours to give a new's conference. they will be filling us in on her journey home and let's watch this. this is bill, a different scene than what we saw with the good samaritan. he was able to walk and now saw. but we're understanding that her medical condition has been improving over the last couple of days since she received that experimental treatment. that she is in stable condition. it is good news to see her home. we will continue to follow this and tell you what happens next with all of this. but -- >> she is one lucky gal, right, to get that kind of treatment? flown home from west africa. >> absolutely. they both are. they both are. now we have both of these people home. doctors say this is so important in terms of learning how to deal with this disease, ebola, that has such a

as this ebola virus continues to spread in west africa. that gentleman that checked himself into the hospital in new york with ebola type symptoms, doctors say he doesn't have it and is he improving in mt. sinai. >> doctor give us the update, we talked about the zmat serum and how effective is it? >> it is not easy to say. we have not formally tested zmap. the only two humans who have received this are brantly and writebol. >> but it appears to be helping them. >> we assume so, we think so, could they be getting better because brantly is a younger person? is it the supportive measures we have been providing? they clearly have better access to medical care than the average west erveg aafrican. it is -- west african. >> if the zmap proves to be effective on these two case he, would it be ethical to get this to west africa perhaps without the clinical trials? >> there are a number of ethical are issues. how quickly can you produce it? it needs to be froze frozen refrigerated, tha that thawed. do you give it to the sickest people who are on th

there's even cases where people think that westerners brought the bola to west africa of course that's not the case but that is what a lot of the villagers actually think and because we are talking about a poorer more third world nation. those types of regions tend to be a little more superstitious as you can probably imagine so with that superstition you know there it prevents education from coming in which is i think primarily the problem there the superstition is preventing people from even mentioning the word a bowl of the base they believe that if you even bring up the word that it brings the disease which we know that's not how the disease of right and then you know i had been discussing earlier as well before this segment. about some of the other customs including you know in west africa some of the more rural villages they'll dig shallow graves that adds to the problem in some cases they'll even bury the dead within their own within their own homes like they keep they keep because of the tribal customs they keep the dead near and dear apparently it's on your property sometimes

really important this virus is contained in west africa. of anreally is no danger ebola epidemic in london or new city.r in a major western it's not the right kind of virus to spread that way. enough, it'sagious too easy to identify. we have to control it in west africa because it's a humanitarian crisis and it reflects our inability to we can'tiruses and if control ebola, we'll be in trouble dealing with the flu. >> thanks very much for joining us. treating ebola in america and in africa, of course, very different cases. it looks like the big mac has become a victim of global politics. tension between russia and the u.s. has grown in the past few months and several branches of mcdonald's in moscow have been closed. officially it's because of health infringements but critics of the kremlin suspect something else is going on as steve rosenburg reports. scare in --ushkin square in the heart of moscow and i remember the day, 25 years ago, when russia's first mcdonald's opened its door in the ussr. i was studying here at the time came here to j

in places like west africa these doctors sometimes come from europe or the united states, and other front line fighters of terrible disease that is work hand in hand with poverty, poor health infrastructures and suspicion from those who are sick and dying. none of this makes tough it is any easier for doctors. when there is an outbreak such as ebola burning like a fire across multiple countries doctors use untested drugs to put it outrages hotter than you can imagine. >> reporter: west africa's ebola outbreak is unprecedented. there are 2,000 suspected unconfirmed cases. the three countries hardest hit, liberia, guinea and sierra leone are so desperate to stop the crisis, they have set up a boundary where no one is allowed out. ebola dates back to europe time when they battled the plague. guinea closed it's borders over the weekend leaving some travelers stranded. >> we have spent four days here. we've suffered a lot since we came here. there is no food. we have asked them to allow us to enter as guineaens but they will not. >> reporter: there are drugs in the early stages of testing. zma

handled it has been exactly right. >> and some airlines had some issues about flights to and from west africaafrica overall. >> yeah. i mean this does strike me as hysterical. we're talking about two people. the idea that they can't be brought to the country by people who are clearly very qualified and know how to handle the situation, the real tragedy and epidemic going on is not in the united states. it's in africa. the situation here that you would have people actually protesting this or even being fearful of dying from this one, you're a thousand times more likely getting in your car tomorrow. you know, i think people need to get a little more perspective probably. >> solving it in west africa is another issue. >> to confine it would be easier if boeing and sky bus didn't bus us around the world. i think the reason for the anxiety, go back to the 1950 gs. the fear of every parent was polo and suddenly the vaccine took it away. and the american people put the po polio paradigm in their head. think thought all diseases went away. much the most dangerous potential weapon of mass destruction,

third, this is the first outbreak in west africa. it was unknown as far as we know in that area before. because of this, it has been a particular challenge to the health systems in this country. they are quite weak. ourth, many of the victims have been in urban areas. there has been spread in urban areas. this is something we have not before.this extent from everything we know to date, there does not appear to be a change in the virus. it is a new development in solving where the virus is spreading. it makes control much more difficult. we are having to deal with it in the united states. that is not merely because of two people who became ill caring for a full of patients who were brought back to the u.s.. that is primarily because we are all connected. inevitably, there will be travelers who go from these three countries or lagos and are here with symptoms. so symptoms may be ebola, or something else. we will have to deal with it in a way we never have before. the u.s. is working in a coordinated way to support other governments and

across west africa more than 700 people have died from the disease. latest from the nigerian capitol, abuja. >> the leaders of nigeria, gi nay and countries in west earve. fears of the -- africa. governments are scrambling a response. in nigeria one man has died from one of the affected cubs. government has placed more than 70 people under observation. two have been quarantined. there are reports of patients who have left hospitals and moved into the community. consumption of wild animals or bush meat is widespread in many areas and taking that off people's menu may prove to be very, very difficult. there is also the problem of large movement of people across countries, across borders in the west africa subregion which is causing a lot of concern for government and health workers. now some governments are even thinking about putting additional restrictions on people coming from areas affected by ebola into their own countries. >> that is ahmed edris from abuja. >>> the outbreak primarily occur in central and west africa, in remote villages, the virus

tempered, brian, by the fact that ebola is out of control, a wildfire, if you will, in west -- in west africa. brian? >> dr. nancy snyderman. kate snow before that. our team covering this in atlanta. thank you both. >>> another big story we're keeping an eye on tonight is the weather. out west, that means a powerful deluge tearing through southern california, a wall of water that triggered mudslides, cutting off communities, including hundreds of children at a summer camp. nbc's jacob rascon has our report. >> reporter: in minutes the shallow stream became a rushing river. more than four inches of rain pounded southern california in under three hours. dry, compact dirt collapsing into mountain communities. 31 homes buried in debris. overnight thousands left stranded. in forest falls, doug could hear the mudslide. >> it sounds like a freight train. >> reporter: then he saw it. >> we ran for our lives. >> reporter: the wall of mud and boulders came crashing into doug's home, leveling his shed and tossing his propane tank 20 feet into a tree. the only way into town blocked by boulders the size o

and i'm glad for any attention my sickness has attracted to the plight of west africa in the midst of this epidemic. please, continue to pray for liberia and the people of west africa and encourage those in positions of leadership and influence to do everything possible to bring this ebola outbreak to an end. >> as two american missionaries are released from the hospital after being cured of ebola, after being given external drugs, the death toll in west africa nears 1500. we spend the hour with partisan health cofounder dr. paul farmer on what can be done to stop the epidemic and what it means for public health system in africa. , which isla outbreak the largest so far in the history that we know about, is merely reflection of the public health crisis in africa. it is about the lack of staff, stuff, and systems that could protect populations, particularly those living in poverty, from outbreaks like this or other outbreaks. >> senegal has just shut down its border with ginny. south africa has been on citizens traveling from guinea. iberia and sierra leone. library police opened fire

the proper facilities have been what is lacking in west africa. not lackstilleries do in spain or in the united states where the patients have been taken. you get them into isolation and have proper protection of equipment and that there is extremely low risk of anything happening there. the challenge for us is west africa. >> the ebola viruses and legos but they do not know how far it has spread in the densely populated city. this virus has claimed hundreds of lives in africa and now nigeria trying to remain infections remain at a minimum. >> today president obama said the citizens in countries dealing with the outbreak are in our thoughts and prayers. his comments came at that meeting of african leaders who have been in washington over the past few days discussing a range of topics. now by our reporter for the bbc. this is all about trade, but without security u.s. companies do not necessarily want to invest. what were they discussing with regard to security and battling extremism in africa? >> they are trying to delay fears about doing business

also most relevant was the recent travel to west africa. that one you're sort of piecing this together, you're looking at the history of the patient in total. what are the symptoms the patient has? but also the travel history becomes very important. so piecing those two things together. there was enough of a concern by the doctors, nurses taking care of him to go ahead, isolate the patient, get the test performed. and wait for those results to come back. >> we should get the results probably tomorrow. is that right? >> i think so. my guess is tomorrow. it may go into the next day, as well because they sometimes send these results out. one thing that i think is worth sort of putting a punctuation morning on is that he isn't going to be in ilation but we've talked about this several times, wolf. this isn't the kind of thing that they will worry about spreading to other patients in the hospital, spreading to people who are talking around the hospital. this is not an airborne virus. this is something that spreads only when somebody is very sick

resources to combat that back in west africa. the other part of this, wolf, for the president is what's happening on the world stage and his diplomatic efforts to stop vladimir putin's steps to deescalate the situation in ukraine have failed as well as what's happening in gaza. so far the president suffers and the secretary of state's, forts to broker some sort of lasting peace or cease-fire in the middle east have fallen short and so the president will likely be asked about all of that and i've been talking to senior white house officials today, they are keenly aware of these poll numbers that are out this week and something that has been below the radar screen with everything happening in the middle east and these poll numbers that are at historic lows to the president and nbc news and wall street journal in addition to the cbs news and new york times poll show the president with disarc proval numbers at the basement of his presidency and the white house knows about that all too well. the question is whether or not there's enou

more than 1300 people have died from ebola in west africa, and they're not able to use that experimentalrug. and that is the fact that's very much on the line. in atlanta, georgia. the doctors and nurses who cared for him. >> today is a miraculous day. i am thrilled to be alive, to be well. and with my family. >> last month, when the aid workers arrived from west africa aid workers were wearing protective clothing to prevent it from spreading. the disease that nearly killed him. nancy writebol was discharged on tuesday, and both brantly and writebol received an experimental drug that was not wadely available. the disease is still prevalent in west africa with more than 1300 people dead. >> these two individuals were able to walk out of the hospital healthy, and the ebola epidemic continues to rage on in africa. >> 576 have died in guinea and four in nigeria. something that dr. kent brantly is all too aware of. >> please, continue to pray for liberia and the people of west africa and encourage those in leadership and influence to do everything possible to bring this ebola outbreak tan end

said it was out of control in these parts of west africa. so this highlights, especially the people coming to the u.s. and making us think about this issue, it's a good wakeup call for us. we in this country have the infrastructure to deal with this. it's those basic infection control procedures. we all know about hospital acquired infections. it is important we observe these basic infectious control procedures. and west africa, highlighting the need to step up the international response so the outbreak don't move to other countries. they don't have the infrastructure and they need the help. >> it is incredible as we go through that, two seemingly unrelated things. the dirty water in ohio and this disease here. something that's a product of our times, right? these things can spread very quickly. the one in ohio an environmentally connected thing. these things are behind us, but today we are facing what seem to be old world health problems. >> sure. the doctor brings up an important point. we think of ebola as it's happening there, not here.

now to promising news, as west africa's struggle to contain world's worst ebola outbreak. doctors have now dischargeed two americans who contracted ebola and recovered after taking the experimental drug, skpurpb going 3 week3andunder tkpwraog 3 wee f treatment. the doctor and the nurse spent about 2 1/2 weeks in isolation after being flown from west africa, to the hospital, dr. brantley talked briefly with reporters about his battle with ebola. >> today is a miraculous day, i'm thrilled to be alive, to be well, to reunited with my family. as a medical missionary i never imagineed myself in this position. when my family and i loved to liberia last october to begin a two year term working with samaritan's purse, ebold was not on the radar, weed libeaause godalled u orpitaheasm rele th doc iis nue oreontande hrt t plic. ry, walk wit head dr. anthony, and we'll talk with him about an ebola vaccine that may be within months of being demonstrated to be effective. >> a record breaking day, on wall street, dow up 60, s&p up 6, closing at a new all-time high, nasdaq up 6, volume 2.

we'll talk about the serum and if more can be produced and help those in west africa.eak to the director of infectious disease next. [rob] so we've had a tempur-pedic for awhile, but now that we have the adjustable base, it's even better. [alex] when i put my feet up on this bed, my stress just goes away. [evie] i go up...heeeeyyy... [donna]our tempur-pedic is the best thing in our house, 'cept for my husband. [lauren] wait,wait,where are you going? [announcer] visit your local retailer and discover how tempur-pedic can move you. ♪ (train horn) vo: wherever our trains go, the economy comes to life. norfolk southern. one line, infinite possibilities. ♪ weit's not justt we'd be fabuilding jobs here,. it's helping our community. siemens location here has just received a major order of wind turbines. it puts a huge smile on my face. cause i'm like, 'this is what we do.' the fact that iowa is leading the way in wind energy, i'm so proud, like, it's just amazing. this is charlie. his long day of doing it himself starts with back pain... and a choice. take 4 advil in a day or

hopefully this can be contained in west africa at the same time. as we move towards the hospital, of course we are expecting a press conference at some point from the cdc and the hospital. once the doctor has arrived and has been taken into the facility where he will be treated. we haven't yet been told exactly when we expect the plane to return with nancy writebol. again, it's a private jet -- >> adam, let me jump in just a moment. we're learning that the plane has left to bring the other patient here to the united states. >> reporter: okay, good. so the plane -- obviously the plane is going to head back to africa and then bring her back so that's going to be somewhat of a trip if you think that their layover time and having to stop and refuel along the way. so it will be sometime, probably another day -- i guess the flight to west africa is 15, 17 hours, something like that. the gulfstream will have to stop and get gas so it's probably a 20-hour trip just to get there and then the return flight as well. roughly 20 hours. so it will be a good day

they are sending agents, about 59d of them to west africa. part of the problem we're having is, you should thinking about this just like a global economy. if some banking has a problem, our stock market is going to be affected. the virus in west africa somehow through the travel can come to our country and contaminate us. we need to be aware that this is a lot more serious than we thought. >> those numbers you site to far only in west africa. >> obviously we have two americans in our country, one american that has passed away from this. and one was in quarantine. recently you saw the scare about this in new york city. so everyone is really aware and geared. so that's what the level one is. >> i think we need to get the fear out of this. we need to distinguish what's happening over there and what's happening here. we're part of a global health community. the center for disease control have sent these disease experts to try to figure out who has it, put them in isolation, figure out who their contacts are over 21 days, follow those carefully. o

and i'm glad for any attention my sickness has attracted to the plight of west africa in the midst of this epidemic, please, continue to pray for liberia and the people of west africa and encourage those in positions of leadership and influence. to do everything possible to bring this ebola outbreak to an end. thank you. >> you see the staff hugging dr. brantly, you're saying to see this man hug, have physical contact, compared to the vision we saw half oil when he arrived on august 2 is amazing. it's amazing to see him out of that moon suit to see him standing and have people hug him and have intimate contact. he is not a danger, he has no virus left in his body that's detect m. he's cured. so those of you who might be thinking why are we litting him back out. the people who know ebola very well, are not afraid to touch him. >> fear cannot dictate our actions and for his part, dr. brantly saying in a sense that he is happy that this imness that he suffered with bringing exposure and brings a conversation to what's happening in west africa. request can the leadership and those in infl

they say the disease has killed 932 people in west africa. experts with the w.h.o. emergency committee reacheden conclusion after a two-day meeting. >> this is the largest, most severe and most complex outbreak in the nearly four-decade history of this disease. the emergency committee reached the conclusion that the outbreak of ebola virus disease in west africa meets the criteria under the international health regulations for a public health emergency of international concern. >> w.h.o. officials say a coordinated international response is essential to stop and reverse the spread of ebola. they recommend kuns with disease transmission declare national emergencies and provide adequate information to the public. they say everyone in those countries with suspected symptoms should be screened before leaving airports, seaports and major land crossings. they advise all nations reenforce inspections as well as screen travelers from ebola-infected areas. >>> w.h.o. experts have only declared an emergency twice for a swine flu pandemic in 2009 and for polio earlier this yea

passengers from across west africa have their textures taken. anyone with a high fever is isolated and given a blood test. through here, the nigerian man who brought ebola came. these workers are determined not to let it happen again. >> it's about ensuring that we take our responsibility seriously. you recall that first unfortunate case, the airline that brought the unfortunate case in was suspended because the airline has a responsibility, a role to play, and so what we are going is this is just a bit of the bigger picture. >> that bigger account include the lagos hopped. outside one of the isolation wards, people wait for news. more isolation wards are built in preparation for a possible spread of ebola. medical workers say they are preparing for on eventuality. in an isolation ward 50 metres where were i am, they are caring for patients who are sick with the virus. they hate the fact that they can do so little. all seven ebola patients cared for here and medical workers, treated the patient travelling through the city, and who died. >> those

but it has becausea new region bats tested positive in central africa have now tested positive in west africa. the work we do has to be kept in mind. neither the new systems of the people in western africa were experienced in dealing with the outbreak. sad has targeted the response in western africa. we started with $1 million investments. withs been reforms to $12.4 million to support cdc and the like. it is important to note that the outbreak in sierra leone and started, inably retrospect, earlier on. but the cases were identified late. for a couple of weeks, we have the outbreak and then it went down. the initial outbreaks one down. -- went down. one case can reignite the whole thing. that is what we have seen. it has been difficult to control. this investment has allowed us providewith unicef to 30 experts, additional operational support, 35 thousand sets of protective personal equipment and the basics. soap, water you read those things are important in this type of situation. usaid is closely coordinating its responses. the cdc has the lead in the response to the ebola outbreak. has been

doctors and health agencies in west africa are struggling to contain the spread of ebola. nigeria has confirmed five new cases of the disease. >> almost 1000 people have died in the world's worst epidemic, which is raging in west africa. at high risk are medical workers who are in the front lines of the battle to contain the disease. one doctor leading the fight against ebola in sierra leone died of the disease last week. >> scientists in the u.s. are now trying out a serum, which may bring a promising breakthrough to american aid workers who contracted the disease and are now in the u.s. for treatment. >> as soon as she landed in atlanta, nancy was taken directly to the emory hospital. the u.s. aid worker contracted ebola while treating patients in liberia. she is being treated with a new drug. the same drug given to the infected u.s. dr. kent bradley. many say both have shown signs of improvement after receiving the drug, which contains three antibodies. >> this is the first time they have been used in humans. the availability of it, the amount, the number of treatment c

. >>> we turn now to the deadly ebola outbreak in west africa, still very serious. take a look at this specially outfitted plane heading to liberia, they will bring nancy writebol back to the united states. she's expected to arrive on tuesday and will be taken to a special unit in an atlanta hospital, very close to the headquarters for disease control and prevention. dr. brantly has already a arrived. making history as the first ebola patient to be treated in the u.s. medical officials say his condition has improved. the christian charity that employs him, says he received a dose of an experimental serum before being evacuated from liberia. those patients just two of the more than 1,300 ebola cases confirmed by the world health organization. you see them posted on this map next to me. 729 people have died in west africa from this virus. we talked to the man who help discover ebola and here he explains just how difficult it is to shut down an epidemic. >> doctors in west africa are fighting a losing battle. more than half of these patients could be dead in days. >> t

>>> any minute now the american doctor who contracted ebola in west africa is expected to be released from a hospital in atlanta. the other missionary nancy writebol has already been released. the live news conference any moment now. >>> well here we go on this thursday. welcome to "at this hour." i'm ma kayla pereira. john berman is off. so much more at this hour. cooler heads seem to be prevailing in ferguson, missouri. a short time ago attorney general eric holder spoke about his visit there. and about the investigation into michael brown's death. >> the people of ferguson can have confidence in the federal agents, investigators and prosecutors who are leading this process. our investigation will be fair, it will be thorough, and it will be independent. the national outcry we have seen speaks to a sense of mistrust and mutual suspicion that can take hold in the relationship between law enforcement and certain communities. >> it would appear that on the streets of ferguson, things seem to be calming down. the latest protests overnight were more peaceful, a few minor disturbances. on

that virus continues to spread in west africa.s reporting from the very heart of where the epidemic is at its worst. we are going to take you there. we're also going to take a look at the experimental drug used to treat two americans with ebola. is enough of the drug being produced to help others fight the virus? ♪ (train horn) vo: wherever our trains go, the economy comes to life. norfolk southern. one line, infinite possibilities. geicmoney for over 75 years.save they've really stood the test of time. much like these majestic rocky mountains. which must be named after the... that would be rocky the flying squirrel, mr. gecko sir. obviously! ahh come on bullwinkle, they're named after... ...first president george rockington! that doesn't even make any sense...mr...uhh...winkle. geico. fifteen minutes could save you fifteen percent or more on car insurance. (vo) ours is a world of the red-eyes. (daughter) i'm really tired. (vo) the transfers. well, that's kid number three. (vo) the co-pilots. all sitting... ...trusting... ...waiti