Discharged Ebola patient Dr. Kent Brantly stands at a press conference with his wife

Two Americans left Emory University Hospital in Atlanta this week after an unprecedented treatment regime for Ebola. They became infected with the deadly disease while working in Liberia for aid organizations during a severe outbreak of the virus.

Dr. Kent Brantly and Nancy Writebol arrived in Atlanta three weeks ago as the first people to seek treatment for Ebola in the U.S.

Both left on their own steam this week. And in his first public comments Thursday at a press conference, Brantly said it’s a miracle to be alive.

“On Wednesday, July 23, I woke up feeling under the weather,” said Brantly. “ And then my life took an unexpected turn, as I was diagnosed with Ebola virus disease.”

In an emotional farewell to hospital workers, he credited the care he received at Emory and the use of an experimental drug called Zmapp for his recovery.

When he arrived, Emory officials said the hospital was one of only four places in the U.S. with a specially-equipped isolation unit for treating infectious diseases. Emory and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention build it more than a decade ago. And since then, a special team has trained in the unit.

But as Brantly prepared to leave the hospital, Dr. Bruce Ribner, an infectious disease specialist, played down the importance of the isolation unit.

“You don’t need a special unit to take care of patients with Ebola virus disease. You need standard healthcare transmission-based precautions to prevent the spread of a virus to healthcare workers and other patients and visitors, and this does not require a specialty unit.”

Ribner said the infectious disease team learned that stemming the loss of electrolytes and other vital fluids appears critical for recovery. But he stressed they have been wading into uncharted territory.

“Are we surprised at the rapid recovery they made? I think the honest answer is we didn’t know,” said Ribner. “There has been limited experience with treating patients with Ebola virus disease in developed countries. So we frankly didn’t know what to expect.”

Writebol, the other American aid worker infected with Ebola in Liberia, quietly left Emory Tuesday. Ribner said Brantly and Writebol are expected to make a full recovery and pose no health threat to the U.S.

Tags: Ebola, Dr. Kent Brantly, Nancy Writebol, Dr. Bruce Ribner, Emory Hospital