Nina Pham on her Ebola recovery: 'Throughout this ordeal I have put my faith in God'
Nina Pham has thanked God and supporters for their prayers after being declared Ebola-free.
The 26-year-old Dallas nurse met President Barack Obama and said she was looking forward to being reunited with her pet dog.
She was one of two nurses at Texas Health Presbyterian hospital who fell ill with Ebola after treating Eric Thomas Duncan, who died of the virus.
In a news conference outside the National Institutes of Health in Bethesda, Maryland, where she had been receiving specialist treatment, Pham thanked God, her family, her medical team and fellow Ebola survivor Dr Kent Brantly, who donated plasma for her treatment.
"I feel fortunate and blessed to be standing her today," she said.
"I would first and foremost like to thank God, my family and friends.
"Throughout this ordeal, I have put my trust in God and my medical team. I am on my way back to recovery, even as I reflect on how many others have not been so fortunate.
"I do not know how I can ever thank you – everyone – enough for their prayers and their expressions of concern, hope and love."
Amber Vinson, who was also infected with Ebola while treating Duncan, is also now free of the virus.
Her mother, Debra Berry, issued a statement saying her recovery was an answer to prayer: "We all know that further treatment will be necessary as Amber continues to regain strength, but these latest developments have truly answered prayers and bring our family one step closer to reuniting with her at home."
Duncan's fiancée, Louise Troh, has also been declared Ebola-free after spending weeks in quarantine but the Daily Mail reported that she and her family are living in a church conference centre after losing their home and all their possessions.
Her pastor, George Mason of Wilshire Baptist Church, was quoted by the newspaper as saying: "She doesn't have a permanent residence at this point. She's lost everything that she owns in the apartment. She lost the man that she loves."
The newspaper reported further that the city of Dallas is working together with a local church and donors to raise funds for six months of housing, and that nonprofits will provide Troh and her family with furniture and other essential items.