Dr. Martin Salia becomes the second person to die in the US of Ebola

By RYAN GORMAN

The surgeon being treated for Ebola has died at a Nebraska hospital only 48 hours after arriving.

Dr. Martin Salia, 44, who arrived Saturday from West Africa in dire health, was pronounced dead Monday morning from the virus. He reportedly tested negative for the virus despite having been in the throes of infection.

Salia became infected while treating patients in Sierra Leone, his home country, and became the second person to die of the hemorrhagic fever in America.

The U.S. resident's condition was already nearing death when he arrived in Nebraska, officials said.

Officials previously announced that Salia was in "extremely critical" condition and late Sunday said it was an "hour-by-hour" situation, according to several reports.

He was flown to the same hospital that had previously cured two other Ebola patients.

Salia's rapidly declining health can reportedly be attributed to a previous Ebola test coming back negative, according to a Washington Post report.

He tested negative for the lethal virus despite being infected, sources told the paper. In an even more tragic turn, those around Salia removed protective gear and embraced him in celebration.

It is not known if those people have since become infected.

Salia leaves behind a wife and two children aged 16 and 20-years-old, according to the Post. All three live in the U.S.

Liberian Thomas Eric Duncan, in October, was the first person to die of Ebola in the U.S. Duncan passed away at Texas Health Presbyterian Hospital, in Dallas, and also infampously infected to nurses during his stay.

Both Nina Pham and Amber Vinson were eventually cured of the virus, but not before being flown to separate hospitals outside Texas.

Almost 5,200 people have died of Ebola around the globe, the World Health Organization announced last week.

Nearly 15,000 people remain infected, and their ranks are only growing.

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