Ebola: 2 US missionaries discharged from hospital

Two United States missionaries have left a hospital in Atlanta, U.S. after what one of them termed a "miraculous" recovery from the Ebola virus.

Dr Kent Brantly and health worker Nancy Writebol had recovered from the virus and posed no public health threat, doctors at Emory University Hospital in Atlanta said on Thursday.

They were airlifted to the U.S. on Auust 2 for treatment at a special infectious disease unit after first receiving experimental treatment, ZMapp, in Liberia.

Brantley, appearing healthy, stood next to his wife as the medical team announced his recovery.

He said “I am thrilled to be alive, to be well and to be reunited with my family.”

He described nine days in which he lay in a bed in a Liberian clinic before being flown to the U.S

``I prayed that in my life or in my death that (God) would be glorified," he said.

Brantly expressed the hope that his treatment would draw attention to the plight of those suffering from the illness in West Africa.

Brantley and Writebol were the first Ebola patients to be treated in the U.S., prompting initial fears about the international spread of the disease.

Writebol was released on Tuesday but her request for privacy meant the hospital had not previously announced her departure and she did not appear publicly.

Dr Bruce Ribner, who leads the infectious disease unit at the hospital, assured the public that there was no threat.

``We cannot let our fear dictate our actions, we must all care," he said.

 ``As grateful as we are today, our work is far from over. We are very mindful of all those in West Africa who are still fighting this threat and those who are caring for them.’’ 

Ribner did not discuss to what extent the experimental treatment had played in the patients' recovery.

He also declined comments on what additional treatment the pair had received in the U.S.

Ebola causes massive haemorrhaging and has a fatality rate of up to 90 per cent. It is transmitted through contact with blood and other body fluids.

The most extensive known Ebola outbreak is currently raging through much of Liberia, Guinea and Sierra Leone.

Five deaths have also been reported in Nigeria out of 12 confirmed cases since July 20.

According to the WHO, no fewer than 1,350 people have died of Ebola as of August 18