Ashoka Mukpo, journalist, declared Ebola free

An American video journalist with ties to Halifax being treated for Ebola has been declared Ebola free.

Ashoka Mukpo, 33, received an experimental Ebola treatment with a drug called brincidofovir and IV fluids.

Mukpo will leave the Nebraska Medical Center on Wednesday, the hospital said. Mukpo arrived in the United States on Oct. 6 for treatment.

He is the second patient to be successfully treated for Ebola at the Nebraska Medical Center, the hospital said on Tuesday, and the fifth treated in the United States to fully recover.

Mukpo became infected while working as a freelance cameraman for Vice News, NBC News and other media outlets. He returned to Liberia in early September to help highlight the toll of the Ebola outbreak.

"Recovering from Ebola is a truly humbling feeling," Mukpo said in a statement. "Too many are not as fortunate and lucky as I've been. I'm very happy to be alive."

"I was around a lot of sick people the week before I got sick," said Mukpo, the first U.S. journalist known to have contracted Ebola. "I thought I was keeping a good distance and wish I knew exactly what went wrong."

Mukpo was born in British Columbia and lived in Halifax. He holds dual Canadian and American citizenship.

He said his illness had not changed his feelings about Liberia.

"I don't regret going to Liberia to cover the crisis. That country was a second home to me and I had to help raise the alarm."

Mukpo's mother Diana said the family is not yet ready to speak to the media but issued a statement saying, "Our family is profoundly grateful to all those who have contributed to Ashoka's recovery."

Meanwhile, Dallas nurse Nina Pham's condition has been upgraded from fair to good.

She entered a special NIH facility in Bethesda, Md., for treatment last Thursday.