Reunited: nurse and pet reunite in Texas, dog declared Ebola-free

Ebola has been making headlines since the virus started causing deaths in West Africa. As world citizens started traveling to other places such as the US, doctors and nurses started to contract the illness. One such case pertains to a Dallas nurse by the name of Nina Pham.

Nina Pham contracted Ebola after treating a man who contracted the disease. Once she was found to have the disease, her apartment was searched and cleaned and her dog, Bentley, was feed by decontamination crews working to assess and contain the virus.

Nina-Pham-ebola

Ebola has killed a number of persons in West Africa, with a number of doctors dying in country due to the fast-spreading nature of the disease. Here in the US, two missionaries (one a doctor, the other a missionary with Samaritan’s Purse and a North Carolina resident) contracting the disease and being treated at Atlanta’s Emory Hospital. A number of individuals who’ve come to the US have died from the disease, and others have contracted it as a result of face-to-face encounters with infected individuals.

The 26-year-old nurse was declared free of Ebola at a National Institutes of Health in Maryland on October 24th. Bentley, Nina’s King Charles Spaniel, was declared Ebola – free within the last few days. Bentley licked his owner affectionately in front of the cameras after being reunited with her for the first time in three weeks.

“Right now, I’m just excited to take Bentley home so that we can start picking out his gifts for his two year birthday party this month,” Pham said. As for the time spent without her dog, Nina says that it was scary not knowing whether or not he would come down with Ebola but that it is now behind her.

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Tyler Cook

Tyler holds a B.A. in Political Science and an M.A. in Journalism. He brings 12 years of reporting and editorial leadership across national and regional outlets, with coverage that spans Congress, tech regulation, and the business of media. His expertise includes investigations, audience strategy, and long form features that connect policy to everyday life. He received a regional Society of Professional Journalists recognition for explanatory reporting. Away from work he runs at sunrise and plays pickup basketball. Tyler sets editorial standards, greenlights exclusives, leads special projects, and ensures every desk meets our sourcing and corrections policy.

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