The Italian nurse infected with Ebola while working in Africa was discharged from hospital in Rome Wednesday and has made a full recovery after fighting the deadly disease for a month in isolation.
Stefano Marongiu said he was returning to his native Sardinia to see his family but was considering going back to Africa. He contracted Ebola in Sierra Leone in May while working for Italian medical charity Emergency.
Health minister Beatrice Lorenzin welcomed Marongiu's recovery after he spent weeks at the Spallanzani infectious disease hospital in a critical condition.
"I am very happy at the recovery of the second Italian patient infected with Ebola," said Lorenzin.
"Once again, it demonstrates excellence in the treatment of this illness".
Sicilian doctor Fabrizio Pulvirenti made a full recovery from Ebola in January after catching the virus last November while volunteering in Sierra Leone at a medical centre run by Emergency.
Pulvirenti urged Marongiu to battle Ebola with all his might. "Good luck, you'll make it, but never give up fighting," he said on 12 May after learning Marongiu was infected.
Pulvirenti was also treated for Ebola at Rome's Spallanzani hospital.
