Government health workers administer blood tests to check for the Ebola virus
Government health workers administer blood tests to check for the Ebola virus in Kenema, Sierra Leone, June 25, 2014. Reuters

Kent Brantly, one of the two doctors from the United States of America infected by the Ebola virus, "seems to be improving", said a top US health official on August 3. He was flown to U.S. from West Africa for treatment. He is currently being treated at Emory University Hospital in Atlanta.

Tom Frieden, director of Centers for Disease Control in Atlanta, said that it was encouraging to see the improvement and they hope that he will continue to show improvement.

In West Africa, above 700 people died from the outbreak. The deadly virus, which first emerged in 1976, has killed two-thirds of those affected by it.

Officials have said that the news will not affect the 3-day U.S.-Africa summit that is taking place in Washington from Aug 4. A senior advisor to President Barack Obama, Valerie Jarret, has said that though they are monitoring the situation closely, they are confident that the summit will be a success and necessary precautions will be taken. She stressed that the spread of the deadly virus can be contained. She added that previously, outbreaks have been stopped and stopping this spread is also possible.

Amber, Kent Brantly's wife, has come out and asked people to pray for his recovery as well as those affected by Ebola in Liberia. She said that she had spoken to him and that she is thankful to God for giving him the strength to walk into the hospital.

The other missionary worker affected by the virus, Nancy Writebol, will also be attended to in the same manner as Brantly. She will be airlifted to the United States.

Tom Frieden has also added that Brantly's wife and children have visited the doctor and are not at risk of the virus. He added that it doesn't spread casually nor does it spread from those who are not sick. He has come to know that they were not in contact with him in the course of the period that he was sick.

There is a possibility of further cases of Ebola in the United States, but the authorities are confident that the disease will not gain a foothold.