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Texas Nurse With Ebola to Receive Care in Maryland

2 minute read
By Laura Stampler

Nina Pham, one of the two Texas nurses who contracted Ebola in the United States, will be moved from Texas to Maryland for specialized care Thursday.

At the request of Texas Health Presbyterian Hospital, the 26-year-old will be transferred from Dallas to an isolation unit at the National Institutes of Health in Bethesda. The NIH is one of four facilities in the U.S. that is specifically equipped to treat Ebola, NBC News reports.

See The Tobacco Leaves That Could Cure Ebola

An worker inspects the Nicotiana benthamiana plants at Medicago greenhouse in Quebec City
Tobacco plants are grown for six weeks in the Medicago greenhouse in Quebec City so their leaves are large enough to serve as a factory for making antibodies. The plants are not modified or genetically altered in any way during this time.Mathieu Belanger—Reuters
Icon Genetics Provides Technology For Possible Ebola Treatment
Researchers at Icon Genetics in Germany prepare the DNA coding for antibodies that can neutralize Ebola. These genes are inserted into a soil bacterium that easily infects the tobacco plant cells. Once in the cells, the gene is treated like any other plant gene and the plant starts churning out the antibodies.Sean Gallup—Getty Images
Nicotiana benthamiana plants are dipped in a solution during the infiltration process at Medicago greenhouse in Quebec City
To infect the leaves with the antibody-containing bacteria, the plants are submerged in a water solution of the loaded bacteria. Plant cells have plenty of empty spaces filled with air, so a vacuum removes the air and the water, along with the bacteria and antibody genes, flow in.Mathieu Belanger—Reuters
An worker shows the difference between the leaf of the Nicotiana benthamiana plant before (top) and after (botom) the infiltration process at Medicago greenhouse in Quebec City
The leaf at the bottom has not been treated. The leaf on top is now an antibody-making factory. The plant's normal machinery starts making the antibody as if it is a plant protein.Mathieu Belanger—Reuters
Icon Genetics Provides Technology For Possible Ebola Treatment
Researchers at Icon Genetics grind the leaves down to filter out the antibodies.Sean Gallup—Getty Images
Icon Genetics Provides Technology For Possible Ebola Treatment
Ultraviolet light reveals the clusters of cells that are busy making antibodies. One kg of leaves produces about 5g of antibodies, which is about a third of the dose required to treat an Ebola patient.Sean Gallup—Getty Images

Amber Vinson, the other Texas Health Presbyterian Hospital nurse who tested positive for the virus, was moved on Wednesday to an Ebola-ready facility at Emory University Hospital in Atlanta.

Both Pham and Vinson had helped treat Thomas Eric Duncan, the Liberian man who became the first person in the U.S. to be diagnosed with Ebola, and who died last week. Pham, who was diagnosed Sunday, recently said she is “doing well” and is optimistic about her recovery.

“The NIH Clinical Center’s Special Clinical Studies Unit is specifically designed to provide high-level isolation capabilities and is staffed by infectious diseases and critical care specialists,” the NIH said in a statement. “The unit staff is trained in strict infection control practices optimized to prevent spread of potentially transmissible agents such as Ebola. No additional details about the patient are being shared at this time.”

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