Worcester, Mass. Hospital Treating Dr. Sacra for Pneumonia Concerns

UMass Memorial Medical Center says patient reported to have Ebola concerns was Holden doctor who previously contracted the virus. Officials do not believe he has had a relapse.

The University of Massachusetts Medical Center confirms that the patient who was reported Saturday to have a potential case of Ebola is Dr. Rick Sacra, who was recovering at his Holden home from the virus.

Officials do not believe Sacra has had a relapse of Ebola. He is being treated for pneumonia concerns.

According to SIM USA, the mission with which Sacra traveled to Liberia before contracting the virus, the doctor was taken to a Boston-area emergency room earlier Saturday with a cough and a fever. He was then transferred to UMass Memorial Medical Center in Worcester.

SIM quotes Dr. Phil Smith of Nebraska Medical Center, where Sacra was treated for Ebola, as saying it is extremely unlikely that Sacra would have a relapse of Ebola.

"Because of his recent battle with the Ebola virus, his immune system is compromised," said Smith according to SIM. "The symptoms he has are indicative of a respiratory illness and are not those of someone suffering from Ebola."

The hospital says it is working with the Centers for Disease Control and the Massachusetts Department of Public Health while the patient is examined.

Sacra was being isolated until more could be learned, the hospital said Saturday.

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