Dallas nurse Vinson recovering from Ebola, family says

Amber Vinson, the second Dallas nurse diagnosed with Ebola after treating Liberian patient Thomas Eric Duncan, has improved enough that she was approved for transfer out of isolation at Emory University Hospital, her family said late Wednesday.

Officials from the Atlanta hospital, where Vinson was transferred last week for specialized treatment, and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention told Vinson that the virus was no longer detectable in her body, the family said in a statement. Neither Emory nor the CDC had immediately confirmed the family's account.

"Amber and our family are ecstatic to receive this latest report on her condition," her mother, Debra Berry, said in the statement. "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."

Nina Pham, the first nurse on Duncan's care team at Texas Health Presbyterian Hospital Dallas to contract the disease, continues to be treated at the National Institutes of Health Clinical Center in Bethesda. The NIH said Tuesday that it had upgraded her clinical status from fair to good.

This week the CDC issued stronger safety standards for healthcare workers who work around Ebola patients, acknowledging that the spread of the disease to Vinson and Pham exposed the previous protocols as insufficient.

Follow Adam Rubenfire on Twitter: @arubenfire