US Ebola patients well again: don't freak out

Remember late last month when a couple of US citizens were brought to Atlanta with the Ebola infection? They've been cured. Emory University hospital staff and the patients in question are certainly amongst those who would like to address those fired up by headlines like "EBOLA PATIENTS ENTER USA" with reassurances that the public can stop losing its collective mind right now.

Patient Dr Brantly suggests that he is "thrilled to be alive, to be well, and to be reunited with my family." Brantly added, "As a medical missionary, I never imagined myself in this position."

Brantly and Nancy Writebol were brought to the USA three weeks ago after they'd contracted Ebola in West Africa.

While there is no known cure for Ebola, there is an experimental treatment called "ZMapp." This was the treatment given to Dr Brantly and Mrs Writebol. ZMapp comes from Mapp Biopharmaceutical and is not prepared for global distribution at this time.

It's not confirmed whether or not it was ZMapp specifically that's responsible for the recovery of these two patients. According to the BBC, the same drug has been given to three Liberian health workers who are "showing signs of improvement" as well as a Spanish priest who later died.