Ebola Outbreak 2014 News Update, Watchlist & Death Toll: Nebraska Patient Dies

Dr. Martin Salia, the Sierra Leone health worker who contracted Ebola, has died two days after being flown to Nebraska Medical Center for treatment, Fox News reported.

Hospital spokesman Taylor Wilson said in a statement that Salia "has passed away as a result of the advanced symptoms of the disease" shortly after 4 a.m. on Monday, Fox News noted. Dr. Phil Smith, head of the hospital's biocontainment unit where Salia was treated, stated that his remains will be cremated.

The hospital described its treatment for Salia as a "truly heroic effort," according to a report from NBC News. By the time Salia arrived in Nebraska Medical Center, he was reportedly unconscious, had breath shortage, and with no kidney function. He was given the experimental drug ZMapp and also received blood transfusion from an Ebola survivor, which had saved the lives of two patients infected with the disease. Hospital officials refused to disclose the name of the donor.

"We used every possible treatment available to give Dr. Salia every possible opportunity for survival," said Smith, who successfully treated medical missionary Dr. Rick Sacra and NBC camera operator Ashoka Mukpo for the virus. "As we have learned, early treatment with these patients is essential. In Dr. Salia's case, his disease was already extremely advanced by the time he came here for treatment," NBC News added.

Salia previously tested negative for the disease, but on November 10, a second test came back positive. According to Dr. Smith, people usually develop symptoms a week after getting infected, NBC News noted. Usually, there will be fever for three to four days, then other symptoms such as diarrhea, nausea, and vomiting will be present.

In a report from Time, it was also noted that Salia was placed on dialysis but he eventually went into complete respiratory failure and had "severely low blood pressure and progressed to cardiac arrest."

Salia arrived in Nebraska from West Africa on Saturday and was transported via plane. He was then brought to the hospital in an ambulance, Fox News wrote. He contracted Ebola while working in Sierra Leone, one of the West African countries severely hit by the deadly disease.

In a statement, Salia's wife said that she and her family are thankful for the hospital's efforts in saving her husband.

"We're very grateful for the efforts of the team led by Dr. Smith," Isatu Salia said, as quoted by Washington Post. "In the short time we spent here, it was apparent how caring and compassionate everyone was. We are so appreciative of the opportunity for my husband to be treated here and believe he was in the best place possible."

The Ebola outbreak has killed more than 5,000 people in Sierra Leone, Guinea, and Liberia, according to NBC News. The World Health Organization (WHO) stated that there are more than 14,000 cases of the disease.