Ebola in US: Dr Martin Salia dies in Nebraska hospital after contracting disease in Sierra Leone

Surgeon with US residency contracted the disease working in Sierra Leone

Health workers in protective suits transport Dr. Martin Salia to the Nebraska Medical Center in Omaha. (AP Photo)

A man being treated for Ebola at an American hospital has died.

Dr Martin Salia, a citizen of Sierra Leone, was flown to the specialist biocontainment unit at an Nebraska Medical Center on Saturday to be treated for the disease.

The Omaha hospital announced on Monday morning that Dr Salia had died from his illness, however.

The doctor contracted the disease while working as a surgeon in the West African country, but was moved to the Nebraska hospital for treatment.

Two other Ebola patients have been successfully treated at the US hospital in recent weeks.

Dr Salia, who was 44, had US residency and was married to an American. He is the 10 person to be treated for Ebola in the United States of America.

Though involved in the care of ebola patients while working in Sierra Leone, he had made the US state of Maryland his home.

The recent Ebola outbreak has killed more than 5,000 people in West Africa this year.

The US Centres for Disease Control, a government agency, described the Ebola outbreak in West Africa was "the largest in history".