--- description: Ashoka Mukpo was diagnosed with Ebola on Oct. 2 while working in Liberia. title: American Freelance Cameraman Is Officially Free of Ebola image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt35421e6fb90dfe2c/698762312dce01587f9db168/456732540.jpg?branch=production&width=3840&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  * [Health](/section/health/) ## Health Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close * [ebola](/tag/ebola/) ## ebola Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close # American Freelance Cameraman Is Officially Free of Ebola  by [Jack Linshi](/author/jack-linshi/)  ## Jack Linshi Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Oct 22, 2014 1:08 AM CUT  Nebraska Medical Center on Oct. 6, 2014 in Omaha, Nebraska. Nebraska Medical Center on Oct. 6, 2014 in Omaha, Nebraska.Eric Francis—Getty Images  by [Jack Linshi](/author/jack-linshi/)  ## Jack Linshi Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Oct 22, 2014 1:08 AM CUT An American journalist who contracted Ebola while working in Liberia is officially clear of the virus, the hospital where he was treated said Tuesday. The Nebraska Medical Center made the announcement of NBC freelance cameraman Ashoka Mukpo’s recovery after the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention confirmed his blood test no longer showed presence of the virus, [according to NBC News.](http://www.nbcnews.com/storyline/ebola-virus-outbreak/nbc-news-freelancer-ashoka-mukpo-declared-free-ebola-n231061 "undefined") The 33-year-old, who arrived at the hospital on Oct. 6 after being evacuated from Liberia, will now be allowed to leave his isolation unit and return home to Rhode Island, the hospital said. “Recovering from Ebola is a truly humbling feeling,” Mukpo told the hospital. “Too many are not as fortunate and lucky as I’ve been. I’m very happy to be alive.” As part of his treatment, Mukpo had received a blood donation from Dr. Kent Brantly, the first American to be diagnosed with Ebola and who was also treated at the Nebraska Medical Center, in addition to an experimental drug called [brincidofovir](http://www.nbcnews.com/storyline/ebola-virus-outbreak/dallas-ebola-patient-gets-experimental-drug-n219566 "undefined"). The photojournalist was diagnosed with Ebola on Oct. 2 in Liberia, making him the fourth American to contract the virus. That number has since risen to eight Americans who have developed the deadly disease in an outbreak that has claimed over 4,500 lives, according to the World Health Organization. The only Ebola fatality in the U.S. thus far has been that of Thomas Eric Duncan, a Liberian who died in Dallas on Oct. 8\. Meanwhile, an unnamed patient and two Dallas nurses, Amber Vinson and Nina Pham, remain in treatment, according to [CNN](http://www.cnn.com/2014/10/17/us/ebola-us-list/index.html "undefined")[.](http://www.cnn.com/2014/10/17/us/ebola-us-list/index.html "undefined") Pham’s condition was [upgraded](http://time.com/3529990/ebola-dallas-nurse-nina-pham-condition-good/ "undefined") from “fair” to “good” Tuesday, while Vinson’s mom [told ABC](http://abcnews.go.com/Health/mother-nurse-contracted-ebola-details-weakened-daughters-struggle/story?id=26339562 "undefined") Tuesday that her daughter is “doing OK, just trying to get stronger.” \[[_NBC News_](http://www.nbcnews.com/storyline/ebola-virus-outbreak/nbc-news-freelancer-ashoka-mukpo-declared-free-ebola-n231061 "undefined")\] ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/3530334/ebola-ashoka-mukpo-nbc-freelance-cameraman/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/3530334/ebola-ashoka-mukpo-nbc-freelance-cameraman/"},"headline":"American Freelance Cameraman Is Officially Free of Ebola","datePublished":"2014-10-22T01:08:39.000Z","dateModified":"2026-02-21T10:56:08.155Z","description":"Ashoka Mukpo was diagnosed with Ebola on Oct. 2 while working in Liberia","url":"https://time.com/3530334/ebola-ashoka-mukpo-nbc-freelance-cameraman/","keywords":["ebola"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt35421e6fb90dfe2c/698762312dce01587f9db168/456732540.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Jack Linshi","jobTitle":null,"url":"https://time.com/author/jack-linshi/"}],"articleSection":"Health","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt35421e6fb90dfe2c/698762312dce01587f9db168/456732540.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675,"headline":"US Journalist Who Contracted Ebola In Liberia Treated At Nebraska Medical Center","caption":"US Journalist Who Contracted Ebola In Liberia Treated At Nebraska Medical Center","creditText":"Eric Francis—Getty Images","representativeOfPage":true}],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/section/health/","name":"Health"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"/tag/ebola/","name":"ebola"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/3530334/ebola-ashoka-mukpo-nbc-freelance-cameraman/","name":"American Freelance Cameraman Is Officially Free of Ebola"}}]},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"VideoObject","name":"Nigeria is an Ebola Success Story: Here's What The Country Did Right","description":"The World Health Organization declared Nigeria free of Ebola on Monday, a containment victory in an outbreak that has stymied other countries’ response efforts.","thumbnailUrl":"https://cdn.jwplayer.com/v2/media/mSo7iFZ3/poster.jpg?width=720","uploadDate":"2014-10-21T14:40:21.000Z","contentUrl":"https://cdn.jwplayer.com/manifests/mSo7iFZ3.m3u8","embedUrl":"https://time.com/3530334/ebola-ashoka-mukpo-nbc-freelance-cameraman/","duration":"PT2M43S","potentialAction":{"@type":"SeekToAction","target":"https://time.com/3530334/ebola-ashoka-mukpo-nbc-freelance-cameraman/?jw_start={seek_to_second_number}","startOffset-input":"required name=seek_to_second_number"}}] ```