Ebola, some good news mixed with the bad

The news of the dreaded Ebola virus remains grim, but there has been some good news involving survivors. Here in Thailand, a woman returning from West Africa has been cleared by doctors.

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Dr. Kent Brantly (right) stands with his wife, Amber Brantly, during a press conference announcing his release from Emory Hospital on August 21, 2014 in Atlanta, Georgia. JESSICA McGOWAN/AFP

Ebola, some good news mixed with the bad

The news of the dreaded Ebola virus remains grim. The disease, thus far confined to West Africa, has killed more than 1400 people since March.

Liberia, the worst affected country with more than 600 deaths, reports that all regions of the country now have cases of Ebola and medical workers are desperately trying to expand their facilities for coping with the deadly disease.

This picture taken on August 21, 2014 shows staff members at the French NGO Medecins Sans Frontieres (Doctors without borders) Elwa hospital in Monrovia, where patients suffering from Ebola are taken care of. AFP PHOTO / ZOOM DOSSO

There has been some good news mixed with the bad, however.

Two American missionaries who were sickened with Ebola while working in Liberia and were treated with an experimental drug are doing better and have left the hospital, doctors said Thursday.

Doctor Kent Brantly, 33, and Nancy Writebol, 60, both Christian aid workers, were infected with Ebola in Monrovia last month as the largest outbreak in history swept West Africa.

They were airlifted to Emory University Hospital in Atlanta, Georgia for treatment in special isolation units three weeks ago.

Both also received a drug called ZMapp, though experts say it is impossible to know if that aided their recovery.

"The discharge from the hospital of both these patients poses no public health threat," said Bruce Ribner, director of Emory's Infectious Disease Unit.

"This is a fairly devastating disease, but we would anticipate that, in general, most patients, if they have not had any substantial organ damage, will make a complete recovery."

Brantly, who smiled and held hands with his wife before reading a prepared statement for reporters, looked thin but otherwise healthy.

"I am thrilled to be alive, to be well and to be reunited with my family," Brantly said.

A medical worker looks for signs of fever through a monitor detecting body temperature at Suvanabhumi Airport. SOMCHAI POOMLARD

Meanwhile in Thailand, a Thai woman who recently returned from Liberia has been cleared by doctors who determined she did not have the deadly virus.

Dr Narong Sahametapat, permanent secretary for health, said Friday a checkup done on the 48-year-old woman found she was not running a fever – an early indicator of Ebola Virus Disease infection – and there were no signs of the Ebola virus in her bloodstream.

Adapted from AFP and Bangkok Post stories

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