‘Today Show’ host Matt Lauer visits Asheville to interview ebola survivor

Jason Sandford

Jason Sandford is a reporter, writer, blogger and photographer interested in all things Asheville.

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Matt Lauer, host of The Today Show on NBC, was spotted in West Asheville Tuesday. Turns out that Lauer was in town to interview Kent Brantly, a survivor of the ebola epidemic that has been sweeping Africa. The UK Daily Mail website has the full story. Click over for video and all. If I had to guess, I’d say the interview took place at The Cove, the Rev. Billy Graham’s retreat.

A tidbit:

Dr Kent Brantly was treating Ebola patients in Liberia at the end of July, during what is currently the largest outbreak of the disease ever, when he first started showing signs of the deadly disease.
The 33-year-old and another infected missionary worker were transported out of the country in early August for treatment at Emory University Hospital in Atlanta, Georgia, where both were able to beat the disease with the help of an experimental new serum called ZMapp.

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At first, he hoped it was malaria or dengue fever, but the results kept coming back negative until he was eventually tested for Ebola. The positive test means death for more than the 90 per cent who catch the disease, but Dr Brantly says he never lost faith even when doctors started to fear he wouldn’t make it through the night.